Deadly Assumptions
by blueoctober
Summary: A simple mission to a new planet...no problems right? A team story with Carson.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of its characters. I want to apologize for any grammar mistakes and getting any medical information wrong, I'll try to keep them to a minimum. The rating is for violence in future chapters. A special thanks to IguanaMom for being my beta reader. :)

CHAPTER 1

He was cold and soaked to the bone; Carson was wishing he were back on Atlantis in the safety of his infirmary. Why didn't he find a better hiding place or make a better excuse for not coming when he learned that he was scheduled to go off-world with Sheppard's team. He was a medical doctor not a soldier; he wished Elizabeth and John would stop insisting that he go off world. Thankfully in a few minutes their mission would be over and they would be back home.

They were making their way back to the stargate through the dense forest that seemed to cover most of the planet. It had started with a light drizzle, but now it was pouring. Ever since they had left the little remote village Rodney had been complaining about everything, the rain only made matters worse; as usual everyone else was simply ignoring him. At the front of their little group John turned around to address Carson, who was behind him.

"Didn't I tell you Dr. Beckett that there was nothing to worry about? Nothing bad happened."

"Aye, but don't go jinxing it. We still have a ways before we reach the stargate."

"Carson will you lighten up, what could go wrong?" Rodney, who was walking next to Carson, asked.

"For some reason many things come to mind. The sooner we get back the better."

"What's that suppose to mean? It's not like we go looking for trouble." John said trying to defend himself.

"You should get out more Doctor," Aiden suggested.

"I get out enough Lieutenant, could we pick up the pace a bit?"

"Do you have someplace you have to be?" John asked.

"He just wants to get back to his infirmary so he can get back to his voodoo witch practices and find more victims," Rodney said.

Carson rolled his eyes. "Rodney for the last time it isn't voodoo, it's called medicine and I don't go looking for victims they keep coming to me. For some reason they're mostly scientists," he paused slightly before continuing, "I don't really have to get back to the infirmary anytime soon unless one of you manages to injure yourself before we make it back."

"Well don't worry Carson it won't be me, though I can't say the same for Sheppard." Rodney said smirking.

John gave Rodney an annoyed glare.

"I wouldn't be so sure McKay, you do have a tendency to get yourself into trouble."

John and Rodney stopped walking as they started to argue over who was going to get injured next.

"How long do you think they'll keep this up?" Aiden asked Teyla and Carson.

"They could go on for hours." Teyla replied.

"Aye, but we should really start getting back," Carson said, "There's something about these woods. It feels like we're being watched."

Aiden rolled his eyes; Carson always seemed a little anxious and paranoid when they were out on a mission.

"I have also noticed that. These woods are far too quiet," Teyla remarked, "Major, we should start heading back. Something does not seem right about these woods."

At that John and Rodney both stopped arguing.

"Now that you mention it, it is really quiet," John said.

John slowly pulled out his gun and signaled to his team members to do the same.

"I knew I should have stayed back on Atlantis. What was I thinking agreeing to come?" Carson mumbled to himself.

"Keep your eyes open. Let's pick up the pace."

They hurried through the woods; there was now an ominous feeling in the air as they weaved in and out, through the tall trees. Suddenly out of nowhere something shot past John and embedded itself into the tree next to him.

"Take cover!" he yelled as another missed his head by a few inches.

They quickly threw themselves behind some trees.

"Cheer up Carson. There's nothing to worry about. This will only take a few hours; it will be a piece of cake. All we have to do is take a look around then head back to Atlantis," Carson said glaring at John, repeating what John told him earlier that day.

"Well…" John started to say before Rodney interrupted him.

"Who's shooting at us? And with what?" Rodney asked.

Some more things came flying by them, one of them barely missing hitting Rodney.

"It looks like arrows McKay," John informed him, gesturing to the arrow near Rodney's head.

Rodney glared at John.

"Well they definitely are not the wraith, maybe they're the villagers," Aiden said.

"Why would they attack us? They didn't seem to belikeviolent sort of people," Carson said.

"McKay did you touch anything you weren't suppose to again?" John asked him.

"No!"

"Could we not try talking to them?" Teyla suggested.

John shrugged; he cautiously peeked out from the tree he was hiding behind. He could see their attackers now, they looked similar to the villagers but their clothing was a little different. Just as he was about to shout something at them another arrow shot passed him, barely missing him again.

"Well, we can rule out that idea. Teyla get Dr. Beckett and McKay back to the gate, Ford and I will cover you. We'll be right behind you."

Teyla nodded and hurried off with the doctors back to the stargate. John turned to Aiden, "Okay let's buy them some time before we head after them."

"Yes sir."

They turned to face the hostiles and fired a few shots towards them.

Teyla, Rodney, and Carson ran as fast as they could back to the stargate. So far none of the attackers had followed them.

"It looks like we lost them," Rodney panted as they continued to run. Unfortunately he spoke too soon as a few arrows shot by them. They ran faster, weaving quickly through the trees.

"I guess we didn't lose them after all."

The only response he got were glares from Carson and Teyla.

"Ye think?" Carson remarked.

As Rodney was about to respond he tripped over a tree root and fell hard, flat on his face. Teyla and Carson ran back to him and grabbed his arms; they pulled him up and started running again with Rodney limping slightly. Carson slowed down for a moment as he felt something hit him on his shoulder, missing his protective vest; it felt like a bee sting.

"Come on Dr. Beckett," Teyla said slowing down, noticing he wasn't right behind her any more.

He nodded and picked up his pace. Up ahead they could see the end of the woods; they were almost back to the stargate.

"We're almost there Carson," Rodney said looking to his right, expecting to see Carson. Surprised when he didn't see him, he looked behind and saw Carson was standing still. "Carson this is no time to stop, they're right behind us. Come on!"

When Carson didn't answer and acted as if he didn't hear Rodney, they ran back towards him. Before they reached him, he started to sink to the ground.

"Dr. Beckett!" Teyla yelled as they hurried to him.

They caught him before he hit the ground. Gently as possible they dragged him behind the shelter of some trees and propped him up beside one of the tree trunks.

"Carson, are you hurt?" Rodney asked growing more concerned when the doctor didn't answer and stared past him with unfocused eyes.

"Dr. Beckett?" Teyla tried.

Carson's eyes then rolled back into his head and he went limp.

"Carson! Oh god. Is he dead? He can't be dead…what are we going to do?" Rodney said panicking.

Teyla quickly felt Carson's throat for a pulse, sighing in relief whenshe found it.She frowned when she noticed something sticking out of his shoulder.

"Don't worry Dr. McKay. He's alive."

"Thank goodness. Is he injured?"

"It looks like he was hit with some type of dart."

"A dart?"

She gently pulled it out of Carson's shoulder and showed it to Rodney.

"Oh."

"Come on, we need to get him back to Atlantis," she said placing the dart in her vest pocket. Rodney nodded and they started to drag Carson's limp form toward the gate. They were almost to the edge of the woods when some arrows shot past them as their pursuers caught up with them.

"Rodney get him to the gate, I'll try to distract them."

"Teyla," he started to say.

"Don't worry I'll be behind you. Carson needs medical attention, we do not know if he was hit with something poisonous."

Rodney nodded and hurried toward the stargate dragging Carson with him. Teyla fired a few shots in the direction the arrows were coming from. She quickly made her way toward some other trees to draw the arrows away from Rodney's direction before she headed after them.

Rodney dragged Carson as fast as he could sideways, trying to keep an eye out for their assailants. Looking to the right he could see the stargate, he was almost out of the forest. Just as he passed by the last tree, he tripped over its root and stumbled. He cursed under his breath as he came close to dropping Carson and falling to the ground again. Rodney paused for a second when he heard some leaves crunching near him. He held Carson a little tighter and ran toward the stargate. He didn't bother looking behind him as he ran; he sighed in relief when he made it to the gate. As he was placing Carson carefully down on the steps leading up to the stargate he felt something hit his neck, he froze. His hand shook as he reached to touch his neck and soon felt overcome with despair when his fingers made contact with a dart. He pulled it out quickly and let it drop to the ground then hurried over to the DHD and he started to type in Atlantis' code. He watched the gate dial, wishing it would go faster. He kept looking nervously behind him at the woods. He hoped he would be able to get Carson back to Atlantis before what ever was in the dartcame him. Finally the seventh chevron lock in place, he was about to send his code through when he felt his legs turn to Jell-O. Grabbing onto the DHD for support he tried sending his code through. To his horror his knees buckled beneath him and felt paralyzed, almost like being hit with a wraith stunner. As he sank to the ground he hoped his team members found them before their pursuers did. Just as his eyes were closing, he saw something moving out of the woods. He tried to keep his eyes from closing a little longer but found them closing shut. Before succumbing to the darkness he heard someone or something approaching then he knew nothing more as the darknessover tookhim. He didn't see the group of people approaching him. They silently walked over to the two doctors lying on the ground.

Reaching the unconscious doctors by the open gate one of them asked, "Which one is he?"

"I don't know. We might as well take them both, we can't risk leaving the one we came for behind. We mustn't fail our mission, the chief's life depends on our success. When they wake up we can ask them then," another answered. The others nodded in agreement. They silently picked up the two doctors and carried them off into the deep forest.

A.N. I hope you liked it so far. Please let me know what you think…good or bad…


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Major Sheppard and Lt. Ford had gone around what felt like circles in the forest, trying to lose their mysterious assailants. Every time it seemed like they lost them, they would pop out again out of no-where. John glanced at Aiden from behind the tree truck he was using as cover. He motioned to him to start heading back to the stargate, Aiden nodded in response and quietly crept in the direction of the gate. John chanced a look in the direction of their assailants and was surprised to see them sneaking back into the woods. Soon they were gone and all was left was an eerie silence.

"Major?" Aiden, surprised to see the hostile party departing into the woods, asked.

"Something isn't right. Let's get back to the stargate before they change their minds and return."

"Yes sir."

Soon they were weaving in and out of the trees, running as fast as they could back to the stargate.

Teyla threw herself behind a tree as some arrows flew towards her again. She needed to give McKay time to get Dr. Beckett back to the gate. She took a deep breath and turning, she fired her weapon. More arrows came flying toward her as she took cover again. She leaned against the tree trunk and rubbed her arm, it had started to throb. Looking at her hand she saw that it had some blood on it and frowned. She could tell it was only a flesh wound and she knew there was nothing she could do about it while pinned down by hostile fire. She turned and fired again. She stopped suddenly as her assailants were disappearing back into the woods, she did not understand their quick withdrawal. Teyla quickly ran around the trees toward the stargate fearing for the worst.

As she approached the edge of the woods and she could see the clearing was empty. Reaching the edge of the woods she heard something approaching. She threw herself behind a thick tree and pressed her back straight against it, keeping her weapon drawn. Within seconds she heard what sounded like two people run by. As they ran pass her she saw the remaining members of her team.

"Major Sheppard. Lieutenant Ford," she called after them.

John and Aiden stopped in their tracks and looked back.

"Teyla? I thought you would have made it back to Atlantis by now. Are you okay? Where are Dr. Beckett and McKay?" John asked slightly worried.

Teyla ran toward them and they headed towards the gate together.

"Nothing serious. We came under some fire and Dr. Beckett was hit with some type of dart. I sent McKay on ahead with him. They should be back on Atlantis by now."

"A dart? Is he okay?" Aiden asked.

"I do not know."

Within seconds they reached the stargate.

"Lieutenant dial home."

Aiden nodded and set to his task. Meanwhile John and Teyla kept a watchful eye on the forest beside them. Seeing something on the ground in the corner of his eye, he went over to pick it up.

"Teyla what do you make of this?"

She peered at the object in his hand and dreaded the meaning of it.

"It looks like the same type of dart Dr. Beckett was hit with." She reached into her pocket to show him the dart.

"What do you think this means?"

"I…"

"Sir, the gate is dialed," Aiden said, interrupting them.

John nodded; he sent this code through and spoke into his radio.

"This is Major Sheppard. Have Doctor Beckett and McKay come through?"

There was a moment of silence before the earpiece cracked to life again.

"That is a negative sir."

"Major, this is Dr. Weir. Are Dr. Beckett and McKay not with you?"

"We were hoping they were back on Atlantis," John replied.

"What happened?"

"We ran into some unfriendly fire after leaving some people we've meet. Beckett and McKay were sent ahead back to the gate."

"I would like you to come back and debrief the situation before coming back with another team to look for them."

"With all due respect I'm not leaving them behind!"

"I'm not asking you to. Just to wait until another team is ready."

"We can't wait. We're losing valuable time. They could be pinned down somewhere and injured. We need to go after them now!"

There was a long pause before Elizabeth responded.

"Very well, I'll send another team through now. They should be there in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

"Be safe and bring them back."

"I will."

The stargate then shut down and John turned to his teammates.

"Let's try to find some signs of where they could have gone before the other team comes."

They nodded in response and began looking around.

-----Earlier in the day-------

They had been searching the planet for a few minutes for any signs of technology or people. So far their search had been in vane. Weaving their way through the thick forest near the stargate they continued their search with John leading the way. Their trip had been pretty quiet until Sheppard heard someone trip behind him. Turning his head he saw Carson pick himself up off the ground and heard him mumble something about damn tree roots.

"Cheer up Carson. There's nothing to worry about. This will only take a few hours; it will be a piece of cake. All we have to do is take a look around then head back to Atlantis," John said to the clearly upset physician.

"That sounds great but I don't understand why you dragged me on this mission. I'm a medical doctor not a soldier!"

"We know Dr. Beckett. I think you only mentioned that twice since we got here." Ford remarked while Rodney rolled his eyes.

"I'll stop reminding everyone once I stop being dragged on to these missions."

"Dr. Beckett for the last time Dr. Weir wanted you to get more experience. Think of this as a vacation," suggested John.

"A vacation? Are you bloody insane?"

"You maybe on to something there Carson," Rodney said smirking.

"You're not helping McKay," John replied glaring at Rodney. "And I'm sure that in you're included in that insanity," John added with satisfaction as Rodney's smirk turned into a frown.

"What are you implying Major?"

"Oh nothing. Nothing at all." With that he walked a little faster; pushing aside branches from the surrounding trees.

"Wait! Come back here."

Rodney was soon heading after John. Teyla, Aiden, and Carson all exchanged glances before following their team members further into the forest. Hearing a collision then someone falling ahead and raised voices, they rushed forward. They found Rodney sitting on the ground looking annoyed, next to him John was offering him a hand up.

"McKay like I said before, I'm sorry. If you were paying more attention or not following me so closely you could have avoided being hit by that branch."

"It's not like I planned to get hit by a branch and fall. Maybe if you were more considerate of the people following this could have been avoided. Look now I have a splinter thanks to you."

"Where? I don't see one."

McKay lifted his arm up and pointed to the splinter.

"That little thing?" John asked.

"No the other piece of wood sticking out of my finger!"

"Rodney would you like me to take a look at it?" Carson asked, walking up to them with Teyla closely behind him, Aiden made himself comfortable on the forest floor.

"Yes." Rodney held his arm out for Carson to see.

"Um…" Carson said peering down at the splinter in question. Without a word he opened one of his vest's pockets and pulled out a small medical kit. Opening the kit he looked through it and found the item he was looking for, tweezers.

"Now don't move Rodney this shouldn't hurt…much," he told him seriously, but his eyes had a mischievous look.

"What? Wait…on second thoughts it doesn't really hurt that much. It will come out eventually on its own right?" There was a pause for a few seconds as Rodney thought some more on the subject. "What if it doesn't come out and it gets infected, then you have to take off my arm?" Next he began to explain why he needed to keep his arm. He didn't even notice Carson pulling out the splinter, disinfecting the wound, and placing a band-aid over it; though he did notice Carson chuckling at him.

"How could you be laughing? I could be dying here!" Rodney exclaimed.

"Rodney you're not dying."

"I could be. So are you going to take the splinter out?"

"I already did." He gestured to Rodney's arm.

"What! When did you do that?"

"When you were rambling on about dying and losing your arm from a small splinter," John remarked.

"I wasn't rambling. And I could've died if that splinter hit one of my arteries." Seeing John's look of disbelief he quickly added, "Right Carson?"

"Yes but it would…"

"See I told you so." Rodney said cutting Carson off.

Just as John was about to reply, they heard something coming towards them deep within the woods. John quickly gestured to them to take cover behind the trees. They pressed themselves behind some trees and waited for whatever that was approaching. Within seconds they saw a young woman wearing a simple greenish dress and her hair pulled out of her face into a long braid. She paused, a few feet away from them, and looked around as if she was trying to find or hear something. Looking directly at the trees they were seeking cover behind, she smiled slightly and walked towards them.

"I mean you no harm. I have been sent by my people to offer peace." She spread her arms out to show she was unarmed.

The team looked at each other, shocked that she knew where they were. They slowly made their way out from behind the trees.

"It is a pleasure to met you all. I am Uma," she said bowing her head down.

John raised his eyebrow with confusion at the young woman bowing at them.

"It's nice to meet you too…" John responded with uncertainly. "I'm Major Sheppard. This is Teyla, Lieutenant Ford, Dr. McKay, and Dr. Beckett," he gestured to his team as he spoke.

"My people and I are very honored that you have come to our planet. We do not often get visitors."

"What of the Wraith?" John asked.

Uma looked shocked and paled slightly but soon recovered. "We do not speak of them here. It is a blessing they have not come in many years."

"Sorry we did not mean to offend you," Teyla said sincerely.

"It is fine," changing the topic she added, "Come I will take you back to the village. The others are anxious to meet you."

"Wait, how did you know where we were?" Aiden asked.

"We saw you come through the gate of the ancestors and have been watching at a distance. We do not mean to intrude, but we had to know if you were a threat and we were curious to see what you were doing here."

"We understand," John said as his team nodded their heads in agreement.

"I am glad to hear that Major Sheppard. Come we must not keep them waiting," she gestured with her hand that they should follow her.

Rodney quickly went after her hoping to ask her about any technology her people had, while John and Aiden were a little behind them. Carson on the other hand slowly walked after them with Teyla.

"Is something wrong Dr. Beckett? You seem worried."

"Oh its probably nothing lass. I just feel uneasy about this whole thing."

"Do not worry Dr. Beckett she seems like a honest person."

"Aye," he replied but he did not look very convinced.

"Teyla! Beckett!" John yelled far ahead of them, "Hurry up. Don't fall behind!"

They nodded and made their way towards him.

A.N. Thank you IguanaMom for all your suggestions and to everyone else who reviewed my story.:) Please let me know what you think about this chapter…


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. Thanks for the reviews. A Special thanks to my beta IguanaMom and to Tazmy for their suggestions. I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter… I have been having computer problems.

Chapter 3

Continuation of flashback

They followed Uma through the forest. After a few minutes they came to a clearing; before them they saw a village. To Rodney's displeasure there didn't seem to be any advanced technologies.

"Come I will take you to the elders," Uma said to them.

Stepping further in they felt stares from the villagers, who seemed nervous about them. They passed by the small buildings and as they approached the biggest one, one of the villagers approached their small group.

"Uma, the elders are anxious to meet the travelers," the young man who bore an uncanny resemblance to her said.

Uma smiled boldly and nodded. Turning to Sheppard's team she remarked, "Major Sheppard, this is my older brother Talos."

"Nice to met you," John replied.

Talos bowed his head slightly, "It is a pleasure meeting you and your fellow travelers."

John raised his eyebrows a little, thinking the people on this planet were strange. _What was it with bowing with these people? _John thought to himself. Uma and Talos lead the team into the building before them. Stepping inside they could see a plain room with three people - two women and one man, sitting behind a table discussing something. Upon seeing Sheppard's team they rose and bowed before them.

"Major Sheppard, these are the members of our council of elders," Uma explained to them. She then pointed to the members as she introduced them. "This is Cainell, Seema, and Oberon."

Sheppard and his team nodded hello to them before John introduced them. "I'm Major Sheppard and this is my team, Teyla, Lieutenant Ford, Dr. McKay, and Dr. Beckett."

"We are looking forward to getting to know you and your team better," Cainell told them. She turned toward an open door and said, "Sandor."

A young man came through the door frame into the room; he looked at the council members. He bowed his head at them, "Yes Cainell?"

"Could you bring our guest some chairs?"

"Of course."

He left and within seconds he and a few others returned with chairs.

"Have a seat please," Oberon said to them, taking a seat himself.

Once everyone was seated he added, "We are truly sorry we were not able to give you a better welcome to our village. Our humble fourth member of this council has been gravely injured and is dying."

Carson gave John a pleading look, eager to help. Sheppard nodded, knowing the doctor was always willing to help.

"Would you mind letting Dr. Beckett look at him? He's a doctor," John asked them.

They looked at each other, obviously confused.

"Doctor?" Seema asked.

"Like a healer," Carson replied, hoping to clear up their confusion.

All three smiled and looked at each other.

"We would be honored if you would do so," Oberon said, speaking for all of them.

"Sandor would you show Doctor Beckett to Soterios?" Cainell asked.

Sandor nodded and then spoke to Carson, "If you would follow."

Carson complied and started to follow him out of the room.

"McKay, why don't you assist Beckett?" John asked Rodney.

Rodney gave him a confused look, wondering why he was asking, right before he was going to ask Sheppard cut him off.

"Go on. You don't want to keep them waiting."

Rodney scowled at him and followed Carson out the door. John smirked to himself, getting revenge for the incident in the woods with the splinter.

"Where have you traveled from?" Cainell asked.

"Ah…some distant planet," he replied not really wanting to give Atlantis away, "We're just checking out neighboring planets."

"We have not seen many travel through the gate of the ancestors besides the ones we do not speak of."

"Who?" asked a confused Aiden.

"The…wraith," replied Seema.

"We have been very fortunate, we have not seen them here for many years," Cainell remarked.

"Would you like to see the village?" Oberon asked, changing the subject.

John looked at his remaining team members; they shrugged their shoulders.

"Sure."

Next they followed the council members out of the room into another room that was beautifully decorated. The walls were covered with murals and candles hung from the ceiling. The room smelled of incense and the wonderfully carved table, across from the doorway, was covered with food offering and flowers.

"It's beautiful," Teyla exclaimed.

"Thank you. It is dedicated to the ancestors," Oberon explained.

Suddenly they heard a scream from outside. They all rushed out as they tried to find the source of the sound. From one of the nearby buildings Sandor came out and hurried toward them.

"Do you know what happened?" Uma asked him.

"It is nothing to be worried about. Dr. Beckett fixed Soterios' leg. He said something about having to reset the bone," he said with uncertainty at the medical terms. "Come," he added, leading them in the building he had just emerged from.

Going inside they could see Carson talking to someone lying in a bed and Rodney nearby looking extremely ill. They walked up to them, not noticing Sandor slip out of the room silently. Soterios' injured leg was in a splint made of wooden sticks. He looked pale but seemed happy.

"How are you Soterios?" Talos asked him.

"Much better, my leg does not hurt as much."

"Dr. Beckett?" John asked.

"He has a broken tibia, which had not been set. The bone came dangerously close to puncturing his skin. If…"

Rodney's face grew whiter as Carson explained.

"Um…Carson would you mind skipping all the medical terms and just telling how he is?" John interrupted.

"Oh right…He should make a full recovery."

Rodney made his way unsteadily to the door.

"Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked worriedly.

"I just need some air."

Soon he was out the door.

"Dr. Beckett, we humbly thank you for healing Soterios," Cainell said and the villagers in the room bowed their heads again.

"You're welcome, but it will be some time before he is completely healed. He needs to stay off that leg and allow it to mend. He should not stand on it at all for four weeks, and then he will be able to walk on it."

"Is there any way we could repay you?" She asked.

"Ah…there is no need to. I'm glad I was able to help."

The villagers seemed to bend their heads further before raising them again to look at Sheppard's team.

"We would be honored if…" Seema started to say before they saw a young child rush into the room. The child whispered something into her ear. Seema's face paled slightly, she nodded to the child who ran out of the room.

"I am sorry but we must ask you all to leave immediately. We have forgotten about the ceremony we must prepare for to honor the ancestors for tomorrow. Uma could you show our guests out?"

"Yes."

She led them out of the building; it was drizzling lightly.

"I am truly sorry. We hope to meet you again. Come I will show you a short way that will get you back to the gate of the ancestors."

"Okay," said John.

"McKay. We're leaving," John shouted to Rodney who was sitting on the ground, leaning against one of the buildings.

"What?"

"They have a ceremony thing they have to prepare for."

Rodney got up and followed after them. Soon they were back at the edge of the woods.

"If you follow the path you should get back to the gate. Do not stray from it. One can get easily lost. Do be safe. I must go help them prepare. Good bye." She bowed her head one last time and hurried back into the village.

"Okay then, let's head back home."

They entered the woods and followed the barely visible path, unaware they would not be going home together anytime soon.

End of Flashback

Rodney slowly came to his senses as he felt someone gently shaking him. He groaned a little before he opened his eyes and then found Carson staring at him.

"Carson? You're awake!"

"Why hello to you too Rodney."

Rodney got up quickly and would have fallen down if Carson hadn't steadied him.

"Easy there Rodney. Here, why don't you take a seat?"

Not giving him a choice Carson steered him to the bench. Kneeling in front of him Carson said, "Follow my finger."

Rodney groaned and rolled his eyes, he hated these medical examinations.

"Rodney."

Noticing the doctor's glare he complied. It was one of his least favorite parts of exams besides the penlight. Thank goodness Carson didn't think about using that yet. How did he always find himself in these situations? Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the penlight until it blinded him.

"Ah…Carson will you stop that? I'm fine." He pushed the evil penlight away from his face, his eyes watering slightly.

"I'm just making sure you're okay. You've been unconscious for twelve minutes."

"Have you given yourself an examination too? You were hit with the same kind of dart as I was!"

"I'm fine Rodney."

"No you're not! You were hit with some type of dart. I thought you died at first but obviously you didn't. Then I had to get you back to Atlantis… Wait, this isn't the infirmary is it?"

Carson sadly shook his head.

"You're joking right? Please tell me this is just a joke."

"I'm sorry Rodney. I wish it were."

Rodney looked around the room, seeing the door he dashed towards it and tried to open it.

"It's no use. I've already tried it, it won't open," Carson said.

He walked back towards the doctor with his head hung low, he failed to get them back to Atlantis and now they were trapped in a room. Their guns! He reached for his but found it missing. Looking at Carson he noticed he was unarmed too.

"They took our weapons."

"Really?" he asked sarcastically, "I haven't noticed!"

"You need to calm down before you hurt yourself." Carson said.

"Calm down? How can I calm down when we don't know where we are?"

"There is nothing we can do about it at the moment."

The radios! Rodney felt for his ear piece only to find it missing. He sighed, today just wasn't his day. The room was silent as they were both lost in their thoughts. A creaking noise suddenly alerted them to the door opening, they stood up quickly. In the door way they saw Sandor. He walked into the room followed by two others, the door closed behind them.

"You!" Rodney accused pointing to the man standing in front of them. He started toward him but felt Carson holding him still.

"Let go of me!"

"Calm down. I'm sure there was a reason behind us being kidnapped," Carson glared at Sandor.

"Please have a seat. I will explain."

They sat, still glaring at him.

"I must apologize for the way you were taken but we felt it was necessary, we desperately need your help."

"Our help?" Rodney asked surprised.

"Not exactly, they were only supposed to retrieve one of you," he gestured to the other men in the room; "They were unable to determine which one of you and decided to take both of you."

"Which one of us?" asked Rodney.

Instead of answering Sandor merely looked at Carson.

"Me?"

"You are a healer and our chief is sorely wounded."

"You didn't have to drug and disarm us! Why didn't you just ask?" Rodney demanded.

"We were afraid your response would be no, and taking away your weapons was for our own protection. Once again we apologize for your discomfort."

Rodney glared at him. Who did he think he was?

"It's okay. I would be willing to try and help," remarked Carson.

Sandor smiled boldly. "That is good to hear."

"What!" Rodney exclaimed. "He had us drugged and kidnapped. How could you agree to help right away?"

"Rodney I know you're upset so am I but they need my help." Turning to Sandor he asked, "Could you show me to my patient?"

"Who?"

"Your chief."

"Ah…" Sandor smiled and then gestured with his hand toward the door, "Follow me please."

Carson nodded and followed him out the door. Rodney tried to follow but was stopped at the door.

"We do not need your assistance." the nameless man at the door said.

"It's okay. I may need his help." Carson, not wanting to be separated from Rodney, informed him.

Reluctantly the man allowed Rodney through, who nodded his thanks at Carson.

Silently they followed Sandor down the dark hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N: Ah…sorry for the delay, I'll try very hard to write faster. The rescue team that later shows up is the same one I made up in my first story but this story is NOT a sequel to it, I just decided to use that same team. Once again thanks for the reviews and to IguanaMom! Please review…

Chapter 4

Sheppard and his team searched the area surrounding the gate for any signs of where the two missing doctors could have gone. The rain pelted down on them during their fruitless search, John groaned in frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen; it was supposed to be an easy mission. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to either of them, especially Carson, considering he had to basically drag him on this mission.

"Teyla, Lieutenant, find anything?"

Aiden shook his head no.

"No Major, the rain has washed away any signs of struggle or clues to where they have gone." Teyla remarked.

John hung his head a little; his earlier words to Carson about the mission were beginning to haunt him. This mission was turning into a disaster.

"John."

He looked up at Teyla.

"We will find them."

Unsure of what to say he simply nodded his head hoping she was right. The gate suddenly flared to life as the rescue team stepped through to meet the remaining members of Sheppard's soaked team. Sergeant Samuel Edwin led his team, which consisted of Corporal Tom Reynolds, Privates Alan Howell, and Kyle Goodrich, over to them.

"Major Sheppard," Samuel said.

"Sergeant," John looked down at his watch, "um…five minutes. You guys are pretty fast."

"Thank you sir."

"How much do you know of the situation?"

"Not much sir. We were only told to suit up and that we were needed for a rescue mission."

John nodded before explaining to the other team.

"We found some locals; they actually had been following us for sometime, and visited their village before being told to leave. They had some sort of ceremony they had to prepare for. We then made our way back to the stargate. Before we could make it back to the gate, we were attacked. I sent Teyla along with Doctors McKay and Beckett back to the gate while Lieutenant Ford and I held off our assailants. It worked for a while but they were followed by some of the hostiles. At some point Dr. Beckett was hit with some sort of dart and Teyla then sent Dr. McKay ahead with Dr. Beckett. By the time the rest of us were able to make it to the gate ourselves, the area was deserted. Soon we realized they never made it to Atlantis."

"Beckett and McKay are missing? I thought Dr. Beckett didn't travel off-world."

"He doesn't very often unless he is forced to."

"Any idea where they could have gone?"

"No, it's like they vanished without a trace."

"Major, might I suggest we go back to the village? There is a good chance they would know who attacked us," Teyla suggested.

"Good idea. Okay let's head back to the village."

John started forward with the other following behind until he stopped suddenly. John stood still, trying to concentrate. It was embarrassing that he didn't know, he should but he didn't remember. He just hoped they wouldn't notice.

"Major?" Aiden asked, concerned.

"Um…yes Lieutenant?"

"Are you okay sir."

"I'm fine. It's just that I don't…well…I should but…" he was going to have to tell them. "Hey Teyla do you remember how to get back to the village from here?"

"Yes," she said nodding, "It is this way."

"Not a word to McKay about this." he ordered them.

They nodded and then Teyla led them into the woods toward the village, where they would hopefully find their missing team members.

McKay and Beckett followed Sandor down the dark hallway in silence, lost in their thoughts, they soon stopped at a door. Rodney collided into Carson not realizing that they stopped, he would have sent them both to the floor if Sandor hadn't reached out to steady them.

"Careful there my friends. We would not want you to injury yourselves."

"Friends? I would hardly…" Rodney stated, before Carson interrupted him.

"Rodney!"

"It is fine. I understand the source of your anger. Once again my humblest apologies."

"Really, for some reason I find that hard to believe. Have you been drugged and kidnapped recently? Or how bout…OUCH!" Rodney exclaimed. He hopped on one foot in pain, due to the kick that a certain doctor gave him and then he sent his attacker a glare. "What was that for?"

Carson simply stared at him.

"Excuse me."

Both turned to Sandor.

"Ah…" he shifted uncomfortably under their stares before proceeding, "Doctor Beckett. My chief or what I believe you called a patient is right in this room."

He opened the door for them and ushered them in. The room before them contained a single window with a wooden table below it and numerous plants in decorated pots. In the center of the room lay the chief on a wooden bed, a young teen sat on the floor. Carson rushed over to the bed in full doctor mode, with the others following. The chief was a fairly young looking man. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted in pain. He was covered with woven blankets. Sandor tapped the man gently on the shoulder, waking him.

"Xerxes…"

He opened his eyes slowly and gazed at them.

"This is the healer I have told you about. He is here to save you." Sandor explained, pointing to Carson.

Xerxes just nodded slowly.

"May I?" asked Carson pointing to the blanket.

"Please." replied Sandor.

Carson carefully peeled the blankets back to reveal Xerxes' bloody chest. Blood seemed to ooze out of multiple wounds.

"I need some cloth fast," Carson said reaching into one of his vest pockets.

"Certainly," Sandor responded and turned to the teen on the floor, "Delano!"

The boy nodded and rushed out of the room. Carson shook his head sadly as he fished out some gauze. These people knew very little about medical attention. He needed to stop the bleeding before Xerxes got any worse. Placing the gauze over one of the wounds he pressed down, he grew more concerned when Xerxes didn't respond. Xerxes barely seemed aware; his eyes had a far away look in them.

Delano rushed back into the room carrying a pile of cloths.

"Here are the cloths." He presented them to Carson.

"Thank you lad."

"Lad?" he asked, but Carson was too busy trying to stop the bleeding to notice.

"Rodney I need your help. Come." Carson gestured for him to come help him.

"Carson. I don't…"

"You're my assistant for today and I need your help."

Taking one look at Carson's hard glare, Rodney nodded and hurried over to help. As he helped he tried to think of a way to get back at the Scottish doctor when they got back to Atlantis. Maybe there was some ancient device in his lab he could have Carson test out.

"Sandor, how did Xerxes come by these wounds?" Carson asked, never taking his eyes off his work.

"My home village and the other one, where I first met you both, have…"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. They looked back and saw a young girl.

"Sandor, Ahriman wishes a word with you."

"Tell him I will be coming shortly."

She nodded and left the room then Sandor turned to the doctors.

"Once again my humblest apologies, there is a pressing matter I must attend to. I will leave you both to your work. Come Delano."

Within seconds Rodney and Carson were left alone with the unconscious chief.

"What's wrong?" Rodney asked.

Carson had a frown on his face. He sighed before answering, "They aren't telling us something. These wounds are not something one typically gets from falling."

They walked through the woods silently, noticing how quiet their surrounds seemed. The rain still persistently poured down on them, soaking through their uniforms. John was oblivious to it, he kept thinking about the dreaded situation. How did things come to this? He would not have even thought of the idea of bringing Carson with them if he knew something like this was going to happen. His team seemed to have the worst of luck with simple missions. Finally, before them the edge of the woods was near and the village was barely visible. Picking up their pace they hurried into the village. The once busy streets were empty, the curtains were drawn shut, doors were closed, and chimneys were free of smoke. The whole place looked deserted. They exchanged nervous looks with one another and drew out their weapons.

"Maybe everyone is in the building where the council was." John whispered.

They made their way over to the building, the silence all around them starting to feel ominous. Before they made it to their destination, a familiar person came out of the woods and hurried towards them.

"Major Sheppard what are you doing back? It is not safe for you to be here. You must return to your world," Uma said.

"We would like to but we're not leaving without Doctors McKay and Beckett."

A look of horror flashed on her face, "They are…are missing?"

"We believe they were taken."

Uma bent her head and covered her eyes with her hands. She mumbled into her hands to herself.

"Uma…" Teyla started to say before several figures came out of the woods carrying someone covered in blood.

Listening closer they could hear what sounded like a fight going on deep within the woods.

"Come we must go before they come closer. It is not safe to be out in the open. I will answer all your questions but we must get to safety first. Come!" she gestured with her hand for them to follow her.

She led them past the council's building toward a small shed. Opening the door she stepped in and pushed on the wall near the corner. Surprisingly it sprung back revealing a secret area. Instead of stepping in she kneeled down and opened a trapped door on the floor. Moving aside she gestured for them to go down, "Hurry!"

Peering down inside John saw a ladder leading somewhere unknown. The dirt below was lit lightly by something further within. He shrugged his shoulders before climbing down. The others followed him down into the whole and then Uma stepped in the secret room and shut the door. She started to climb down the ladder before stopping to pull the trap door closed.

The team was surprised to find a large underground room that was lit by candles. They looked around.

"Please have a seat." Uma gestured to the cushions on the floor.

They sat down, keeping a watchful eye on her.

"What's going on?" John asked, his eyes burning with frustration.

"I am humbly sorry but when you were here earlier we were not completely honest with you."

"What?"

Just then Talos appeared in the room, entering from a passageway behind the ladder.

"Uma why have you led the travelers down here?" he looked around at them before adding, "There are more of them now. It is not safe for them to be in our village. You must show them back to the gate of the ancestors and send them back to their world."

"Talos, I would but the risk is too great. The others are approaching, if they saw the travelers. Who knows what they would do?"

"Could someone please enlighten us to what on Earth is going on?"

"Earth?" Talos and Uma both asked very confused.

"I mean, what is going on?" John shook his head to himself; he needed to stop using Earth phrases while traveling off-world.

Uma swallowed and took a deep breath before answering. "Our village and the neighboring one have been at war for many years. I fear your doctors have been taken by the other village."


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. I would like to thank IguanaMom for being my beta and those of you who have reviewed my story. I really appreciate all the feedback.

Chapter 5

John felt his eyes narrow in anger at what Uma was telling them.

"You've been at war with another village for years and you decide to tell us now? After two of my men go missing and we are attacked in the forest by the so called others?"

"We are very sorry. We did not think the others would have tried to take your doctors," Talos tried to explain.

"Well you were wrong."

"Once again our apologies," Uma said. John rubbed his weary eyes with his hand.

"Are you certain they have been taken by the others?" Teyla asked.

Talos and Uma nodded their heads.

"We are most certain they have been taken by the others. We have had our suspicions of a spy within our village and now we cannot find Sand…" she was cut off by Talos.

"I think it would be best to meet up with the council on this matter." Uma gave him an irritated look that was only seen by Teyla.

"We are wasting time. Just tell where my men are and what we're going to be up against."

"I am afraid we cannot tell you even if we knew. The council forbids any type of interaction with the others besides our few warriors," Talos explained.

John groaned. Why couldn't they tell them where Carson and Rodney were taken?

"If neither of you can tell us where our missing members are being held. Can you at least show us to your council?"

"Certainly. It is this way," Talos gestured to the passageway he had entered from. John followed him, still annoyed but didn't see any other choice. He was closely followed by Aiden and the members of the rescue team. Teyla was about to follow when she noticed Uma lagging behind.

"Uma?"

"Teyla, you must believe me when I say I would really like to tell you where your doctors have been taken. I wish…I wish I could but one that goes against the council. I…" She stopped and looked down avoiding Teyla's face, in shame.

"Courage sometimes is hard but one must ignore their own fears when other's lives are at stake. If Doctors McKay and Beckett are endanger we must be told right away, we cannot waste anymore time."

"I…" she paused and bit her lip. It was silent for a few seconds before she spoke again, "Come we must speak to the council."

She walked toward the passageway. Teyla sighed; when she saw Uma's irritation at Talos when he interrupted her, as she was about to tell them where their missing team members, were she was hoping Uma would tell her. She then followed Uma down the passageway, barely refraining herself from knocking some sense into her. They hurried ahead to catch up with the others.

The rest of their journey was in silence. The passageway was dark and cold, it was only lit by a few candles. After a few minutes of walking they could see a light up ahead. They entered another room that seemed to be filled with candles all along the walls. There were a couple other passageways scattered around the room, all were dark like the one they just emerged from. The room itself was as big as the room where they met the council in earlier. Looking around they could see a few villagers.

Talos turned to a young boy, "Could you bring the elders?"

The boy nodded and went running into one of the passageways.

"The elders will be able to answer your questions," Talos told them.

"Fine," John said, growing more and more frustrated at the villagers. Within moments the elders arrived.

"Major Sheppard we were not expecting you back so soon," Seema said looking at them, she added "and with more of your fellow travelers."

"It is a pleasure to see you all again. Where are your doctors Beckett and McKay?" Oberon asked.

"We were hoping you would be able to tell us," John remarked almost glaring at them.

They looked at each other, none of them looking really surprised.

"Perhaps it would be best if all of you would have a seat." Cainell gestured to some cushions near them.

"We're fine. Would someone please tell us what is going on?"

"Very well," Cainell began, "There once was a time when our village and another were on friendly terms. That was until the other village started disagreeing about our ceremonies to the ancestors and other practices. Soon those arguments turned violent."

"The other village was always more violent in nature than ours," Oberon added.

"We have tried seeking peace with them but our messengers have always been killed. The others tend to use harsh punishments toward those who disagree with their beliefs," Seema said.

"Why have they taken Doctors McKay and Beckett?" Teyla asked.

"We fear one of our one have betrayed us. Soon after you left we were attacked by the others and we noticed someone missing."

"Who?" asked Aiden.

"Sandor," Oberon simply stated.

"Why would they want our men?" John asked irritated that they didn't answer Teyla's question.

"Both our villages do not have as skilled healers as you do Major Sheppard. We believe Sandor went to inform the others of your Dr. Beckett after seeing him fix Soterios' leg," Cainell said.

"Okay. Can you show us where to find them?"

"We cannot. If we do it would give them another reason to fight us. They will most likely release them after their services are not longer needed," Oberon replied.

"What!"

"We are sorry for the lost of your men but we cannot help you," remarked Seema.

"Could we not show them where to find them, just the general direction? I would not mind." Uma stepped forward.

"Uma we have made our decision," exclaimed Cainell

"How can we not help them? Dr. Beckett saved Soterios' life."

"You will show them back to the gate of the ancestors," Cainell said

"But…"

"Must we remind you the penalty of disobeying the council?" asked Seema

"No, but it's not…"

"You will show them to the gate of the ancestors and that is all. Talos go with her," said Oberon, not leaving any room for her to argue further.

"Very well." She turned to Sheppard and his team, "If you would follow me."

"We are not leaving until you tell us where my men are!" John demanded, tried of the villager's antics.

"Major Sheppard I believe you are out numbered. It would be in your best interest to leave with Uma," Oberon told them

Looking around they saw more villagers in the room; each had a bow or spear in their hand.

"Major Sheppard I will show you to the gate," Uma said pleading for him to follow.

Neither group spoke, the room felt tense. Both groups had their weapons drawn. After a few minutes Teyla broke the silence, "John, I believe we might be able to find them on our own."

He looked at her and saw she was hiding something. Trusting her judgment he nodded.

"Okay Uma, show us the way."

She nodded and led them to one of the passageways.

"This way please."

They followed her in and soon they were in the dark again.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Carson inspected Xerxes' wounds closer, feeling Xerxes' abdomen and listening to his breath sounds. He sighed and shook his head, he didn't have the equipment or the help needed. He was fairly certain Xerxes was bleeding internally and one of his lungs had collapsed.

"Carson?"

Looking up he saw the concern on Rodney's face. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid there isn't much I can do for him here. I think he's bleeding internally."

"You can't do anything? What do you mean you think? Don't you know? There must be something in your bag of voodoo that could save him."

"Rodney it's not voodoo! It's not that I don't want to help but…"

Hearing the door creak open they stopped talking. Delano silently entered the room and shut the creaky door behind him.

"I am sorry to intrude. I was sent to keep an eye on both of you." He shifted his weight from foot to foot, nervous to be around them. "I…I was wondering if I could help or if I could just watch? There are not many healers from my village and Sandor has told us how great you are."

"Actually there is something you could do to help. I must speak to Sandor, there is not much I do for your chief here." Carson pointed to Rodney and himself "If we could return to our planet with Xerxes or just with more medical supplies."

"I am afraid that it is not possible. Sandor is in a meeting with Ahriman, one does not interrupt them without being severely punished. What will happen to him if you are unable to return to your world for help?"

"He will most likely not survive the night."

"Is there anything else I could help you with until Sandor is done with his meeting?"

"What are you not telling us?" Rodney asked.

"I do not think I understand."

"He means about Xerxes' wounds. They aren't the type one would get from falling or simple work." Carson said.

"Ah…I am not really allowed to tell you."

"I would think that would be the least you could do after we were drugged and forced to help!" Rodney demanded.

"You did not come willingly?"

"I'm afraid that's not the case," Carson replied, taking some pity on the teen.

Delano was silent as he pondered what to do. Rodney and Carson both looked at Delano, hopefully they would be told of the whole situation.

"I guess I could explain some of it."

"We would appreciate that very much," Carson said, before Rodney could argue.

Delano nodded. "For many years, long before I was born, my village and another have been at war with each other. There have been many armed battles ending in deaths for many. In the latest battle our chief was sorely wounded. If he does not survive Ahriman will take over. There are many who do not want that to happen. He is known for being unforgiving and giving brutal punishments. That is the reason Sandor brought both of you here to our village."

"You've been at war with another village?" Rodney exclaimed.

"Yes. I had no idea you were brought here unwilling or unaware of the situation."

"How very…"

Rodney's sarcastic remark was stopped as the door opened once again, an unknown man accompanied Sandor into the room. The unknown man was tall and solid looking, someone that could do serious harm if messed around with.

"Ahriman these are the travelers I have been telling you about. This is Doctor Beckett," he pointed to Carson, "and McKay," then to Rodney.

Ahriman nodded, "Are you really going to save Xerxes?"

"We would like to help but to do so we need to return to our world," Carson tried explaining.

The only response Carson got was a blank stare. He sighed and tried again.

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for him here. I don't have the right medical equipment or staff to fix his injuries."

"Are you saying you will not help him?" Ahriman asked.

"No, I am but I need to return to my world for the equipment I need. Actually it would be better if Xerxes could go also."

"I thought you were a healer. Do you not have all the supplies you need with you?"

"I have some but Xerxes' injuries are very severe. He needs surgery and I hardly have the right equipment or staff needed to do so."

"Surgery?"

"Yes, Xerxes is most likely bleeding internally. To stop the bleeding I would have to cut him open and find where, then fix it. If the bleeding does not stop he won't make it."

Everyone in the room looked horrified at that idea except Rodney.

"Cut him open when he is still living?" Sandor asked.

"Yes. I know it may sound horrible and cruel but it's done often in my world. Most of the time it saves the person's life." He looked at Rodney for help.

"He's right. Doctor Beckett is the best doctor we have."

Rodney's comment seemed to change their minds.

"Could you not do the surgery here?"

Carson almost groaned in frustration, Ahriman was making the situation difficult. He couldn't decide if people on this planet had some kind of sick pleasure in making things hard or if it just was in their nature.

"I guess I could but I still would need to return to my world for the right supplies and some more help."

"I cannot allow you to return."

"Excuse me?"

"I cannot allow you to return to your world yet."

"We heard you the first time!" Rodney replied.

"There is no way I can perform a surgery here."

"You will have to find a way. I will not allow you both to return to your world and escape."

"We won't escape."

"I have made my decision. You will have to try harder."

"What if some of our people came with the supplies?" Carson was desperate.

"I will not have any more travelers in my village."

"You can't do that, I've been telling you I don't have the right supplies to save him. By refusing to let us go or letting others bring the supplies you're condemning him to his death."

Carson couldn't understand Ahriman's logic; he wanted him to save Xerxes but wasn't willing to let them get the supplies he needed. Without a warning Ahriman threw his fist into Carson's face, the blow knocking him to the floor.

"Carson!" Rodney bent down quickly to help the fallen doctor up. Feeling dazed he let Rodney help him up, his cheek was starting to throb. He guess he went too far there.

"You do not have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do. I will not risk the safety of my people for your supplies. If you are as good as a healer Sandor has told me you are you should be able to save Xerxes. I suggest you try harder before I stopped being merciful."

Without another word he left the room along with Sandor leaving Delano behind alone with the two doctors. Delano rushed over to the doctors.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked Carson, whose cheek was turning red.

"Aye. I'll be fine."

"Carson he just hit you!" Rodney exclaimed.

"I know. I guess I just upset him a wee bit. There's nothing that can be done about that now. We need to focus on trying to help Xerxes no matter how hopeless it may seem."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Rodney looked at Carson, who was currently shaking his head and rubbing his forehead with his hand. He was worried about the friendly doctor. Carson shouldn't have to deal with this type of situation. He wasn't even here on this planet to play doctor to all the villagers. They were just supposed to look around the planet, but instead they ended up kidnapped and separated from the rest of their team. Though he didn't doubt Carson's skills, he was the only doctor he trusted, but it didn't look like he could save Xerxes.

"Carson?"

The doctor in question looked up, broken out of his thoughts.

"How are you?"

Carson just shrugged, his expression pained.

"Carson?"

"There's nothing I can do for him."

"Nothing?" Delano asked quietly, his eyes tearing up.

Carson shook his head, "I'm sorry lad."

The room was still, all that could be heard was Xerxes' labored breathing. That silence was broken by a raspy cough. Rodney and Delano paled as blood spurted out of Xerxes' mouth. Carson rushed over to his side, wiping the blood away with a cloth.

"Delano go get Sandor."

Delano just stood there lost in a trace.

"Delano!"

He nodded and hurried out of the room.

"Carson?"

"I don't think he has much longer."

Xerxes' eyes opened slowly, giving Carson a questioning look.

"Xerxes," Carson began, "There's nothing more I can do for you besides giving you something for the pain. I'm sorry."

"I know you have done all…" he paused, his breathing labored, "that you can. It is my time."

Carson gave him a small, sad smile. Xerxes nodded. His eyes began to close as his breaths slowed down. Just before they closed completely, they opened quickly. He looked around at them frantically.

"You…if you want," he took a few breaths, "to live you must leave at once." He paused again, this time longer. "Ahriman will blame you for…my death. Please…you must leave…"

He met their glaze for a few seconds before his eyes closed slowly, this time they were never going to open again.

----------------------------------------------

The team followed Uma through the passageway from the room they were just in with Talos bringing up the rear. They walked in silence and their footsteps seemed to echo in the darkness, the air was stuffy and dry. Soon they entered another room filled with candles. There was a crude looking ladder against the wall. Great another room, John thought. Uma walked over to the ladder, stopping with her hand resting on it.

"We must be quiet. This will lead into the council's building."

She climbed the ladder and paused half way up. Reaching toward the ceiling with her hands she lifted it up, revealing an opening. Without a word she climbed the rest of the way up, disappearing from their sight. The team looked at John, all silently asking if he was going up first.

"Ah…right." He sighed before ascending the rickety ladder, hoping it wouldn't break. Going through the opening he pulled himself off the floor and moved aside. Aiden went up next, followed by the rest. They were in a room similar to where they had met the council in. It seemed like days ago. The room was completely bare except for a rug on the floor that looked like it had been pushed aside. The single window was closed and the curtain was drawn shut.

"This way." Uma led them to the door as Talos hid the entry to the passageway with the rug. As she reached the door she stopped, "We must go quickly before we are seen by the others."

She opened the door and led them out. They walked briskly through the village to the woods. Following her, John discreetly slowed down till he was beside Teyla. Trying not to draw any attention he whispered, "Teyla?."

He turned his head slightly, looking at her, his eyes asking her to tell him her plan.

"I believe Uma wants to help us. It might be possible to convince her to go against the council by the time we get back to the gate."

"Really?" His astonishment was clear on his face.

She nodded.

"Um…" He had a thoughtful look on his face as he walked ahead, so he was behind Uma again. Maybe if he kept asking her she would change her mind about helping them. Or maybe she was afraid about going against the council. He'd wait till they were further away from the village before asking her. If she didn't change her mind they could always sneak back to the village and hopefully find where Rodney and Carson were taken. He looked back and saw the village was no longer in sight. Now was time for his plan and he only hoped it worked.

"Uma I won't leave my men behind! We're wasting time. Can't you just tell us where they might be?"

Uma sighed, "Major Sheppard please, I must show you back to the gate. You must lower your voice. It is not safe to be yelling in these woods during a battle."

With that she walked faster leaving them no choice but to follow. So much for his plan. They continued through the woods. Traveling fast by the trees, feeling like they did during the first time they left the village. Walking in silence they were lost in their thoughts, the only sound that was heard were their footsteps. The forest floor was wet and squishy from the rain that had just stopped. Up ahead they could see the clearing where the Stargate was but instead of heading straight towards it Uma led them to the right away from it. They looked at each other in confusion.

"What are…" John started to ask.

"Please just follow me. I will explain," she looked around, "it is not safe to stand unarmed near the gate for long."

They followed her to a grove of trees, the clearing no longer in view.

"I will show you the way to the other village." Turning to her brother she added, "Talos if you do not wish to take part in this I wish the ancestors may take mercy on you."

"I would not leave my sister to fate of the crime she is about to commit alone. I for once agree with you that the elders are not right in their judgment in this matter."

Uma smiled with relief, "I was hoping you would be willing to help."

"What will happen if the council finds out both of you helped us?" Teyla asked.

"Most likely banishment but we cannot leave Doctors Beckett and McKay with the others. If they are unable to do what they were captured for they will be punished severely."

"What do you mean by severely punished?" John asked dreading the answer.

Uma and Talos looked at each other grimacing.

Uma had a pained look on her face as she said, "We do not really know but none of our warriors captured were returned to our village alive."

"Hopefully it will not come to that." Talos added.

"So how far is this other village?" John was hoping it wasn't too far. The sooner they could get back to Atlantis the better.

"There are two different places where it could be. We will go to the first one and hopefully it will be the right one. It is a few hours from here but it is getting late. We will not be able to reach it before night fall."

It looked like John was about to protest but Talos cut him off.

"We must hurry to find a place for the night before our village sends someone to make sure we sent you back to your world."

"Come there is a cave nearby that will be safe to stay in."

They left them no choice as they walked through the woods again.

It felt like they had walked for hours when they came to a stop in front of a mountainside covered with some ivy looking plant. Uma gently pushed some of it aside and felt along the wall. Her hand stopped as she found what she was looking for, she pushed her hand against it. The mountainside opened up revealing a passageway. They peered inside, seeing only darkness.

"Come." Uma stepped in and disappeared from their sight.

John, not seeing another choice, shrugged his shoulders, looked at his team and followed her in. The rest of the team followed with Talos behind them. As soon as they all entered the cave the mountainside closed behind him leaving them complete darkness.

A.N. Thanks to IguanaMom once again and to those of you who reviewed. Any types of comments are welcome. I'm sorry to say this maybe the last chapter update for at least a month, I'm going on vacation and don't know if I'll be able to submit any chapters...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Carson quickly felt Xerxes wrist for a pulse. Hoping there was still one and also hoping there was time to convince Ahriman to let them go back to Atlantis for help. Not feeling a pulse or seeing any respirations he started CPR.

"Rodney, I know you've had CPR training so get over here and get ready to take over when I say so." After what seemed to be twenty minutes of trading off doing CPR Carson stopped and hung his head. He hated losing patients especially if the patient had a good chance of surviving.

"Carson?"

He could only shake his head no. If only he had convinced Ahriman to let them go maybe Xerxes would still be alive or if he refused to accompany Sheppard's team to this planet. He could be in the safely of his infirmary but Soterios probably would have died. Then again they wouldn't be stuck in this situation right now. Sighing he concluded there was nothing he could do to change the past no matter how much he would like to change the events that took place.

"…talking about?"

"What?" He looked at Rodney, clearly missing what he was asking.

Rodney gave him an anxious look, "I said what do you think he was talking about?"

"I have no idea." He shrugged.

"Do you think we should try leaving?"

"I don't know. I doubt we'll be able to find our way back to the Stargate from here."

"True but…"

Rodney didn't get any further when the door slammed open revealing Ahriman, Sandor, Delano, and two other people that were armed with spear type things. Ahriman looked at Carson.

"Come quickly." Delano said.

Carson felt his heart rate speed up; nervous about how they were going to react to Xerxes' death. He took a few breaths before telling them the inevitable news.

"I'm sorry to say that Xerxes passed away."

The villagers looked shocked. Delano had tears in his eyes that were threatening to spill.

Suddenly Ahriman's face harden, his eyes narrowing.

"You…I…"

He paused then turned to the two unfamiliar people in the room and nodded. They quickly walked over to Carson and each grabbed one of his arms.

"What?" He tried to free himself as they pulled him over to Ahriman.

"You will come with us peaceful or your friend," he pointed to Rodney, "will suffer."

Carson barely had the chance to nod before he was dragged toward the door.

"Delano you will stay here and watch the other traveler."

Delano nodded without making eye contact with him, Ahriman then left the room with the others following. Rodney made a move toward the door but was stopped by Delano.

"You must not follow them."

"Move out of the way."

"You must understand. You cannot disobey Ahriman unless you want a long painful death."

"I can't just let them take my friend. Move aside."

"If you go after them you will only get yourself and Carson killed. Please we must stay in this room."

Rodney's shoulders hunched and he nodded, hoping Carson would be alright.

-------------------------------------------

As he was forced out of the room Carson tried to look back but he was being held in place.

"Where are you taking me?"

He struggled against the men who had an iron like grasp on his arms. He tried another approach.

"Could you please…"

He gasped when the wind was knocked out of him. Carson hunched forward in pain, his lower abdomen burning.

"No more questions." Ahriman glared at him.

He was pulled forward again. Trying to catch his breath back he looked around and saw the hallway was lit by candles, not exactly filling the hallway with light. Where was he being taking? It was certain Ahriman was upset at him and was angered easily; a couple punches already confirmed that. Hopefully Ahriman wouldn't take his anger out on Rodney. Maybe they would be able to escape some how or Sheppard and his team would find them. Why did it seem that all or most of the missions he went on with Sheppard's team, and the times he didn't accompany them, turned out disastrous? If he had any choice in the matter this would definitely be the last mission he would go on with them. Unfortunately he didn't have a choice, but he could always dream right? He was broken from his train of thought when he was roughly pushed through a door way and into a chair.

"What are…"

Ahriman cuffed him on the back of the head. Hard enough to have him bend forward and grasp his head in pain.

"Ouch…" he whispered softly.

"You will remain silent unless spoken to!"

He stood a few feet in front of Carson, waiting. His eyes narrowing with impatience when what he was waiting for didn't happen. Carson felt a hard jab on his shoulder. He hissed in pain he turned to look. One of the guards stood with his stick thing ready to poke him again, his eyes glaring at him. Realizing he was suppose to answer Ahriman, "Yes ah…"

"My lord," Ahriman supplied.

"Ah…yes my lord."

"Good. Now we can discuss your incompetence."

What on earth was he talking about? His incompetence? Did he mean his not being able to save Xerxes? He was so confused at Ahriman's antics. What did they expect of him?

"You were suppose to heal Xerxes but instead you did the opposite."

Carson bit his tongue back. It wasn't worth arguing with him. Every time he met with violence. Deciding it would be better to let him continue to rant, he remained silent.

"We welcomed you and your assistant in our village with open arms…" Open arms? Ahriman was clearly delusional. He kept hoping for this nightmare to end.

"We have given you both all the freedom one could ever ask for and this is how you repay us? You let an innocent life get between us and then without the goodness of your heart took it. You killed Xerxes!"

"What!"

He looked at him shocked at the accusation. Glancing behind Ahriman he looked at Sandor, who was avoiding his eyes. Carson sighed, he was hoping Sandor would help but it looked like he was on his own. He knew arguing with Ahriman didn't get him very far in the past but this time he went too far. Before he could protest further he felt a sharp poke in his shoulder again.

"You do not speak unless spoken to!" Ahriman's eyes seemed to flare up in anger.

"Now tell me. Who put you up to this murderous act? The other village?"

"I didn't kill him."

"Answer my question!"

"I'm telling you I didn't kill him."

"If you didn't kill him then what happened? We were told your skills as a healer would heal him. Instead you did quite the opposite."

"I… It's not like I wanted him to die…"

"So you admit to killing him?"

"NO! I wanted to help but there was nothing I could do for him without more supplies."

Carson barely had a chance to blink before a blur came rushing toward his face. He felt his head whipping to the left as a fist made contact with his head again. What did he do this time? His cheek was throbbing.

"Stop evading my questions!"

"Like I told you before, I didn't kill him."

Ahriman's eyes narrowed in displeasure. He turned behind him and barked, "Leave us. Tell the others to move our other guest and prepare Xerxes for his burial. Take Eldon with you."

Sandor and Eldon had no choice but to follow the command. As they left the room Carson felt his heart start to race. He bit his lip, trying to calm down. What were they planning on doing? The glint in Ahriman's eyes didn't imply anything good.

"I am going to ask you again. Who put you up to this murderous act?"

"I already told you. I didn't kill him."

Carson tensed up, prepared for another blow. Seconds passed and he was painfully aware of the fast speed of his heart. Ahriman stepped forward so they were face to face.

"I am giving you one more chance to tell the truth before we take a different approach. One you might find not as pleasant."

"I have been telling the truth. I didn't kill him!"

"Very well. We will have to do things the hard way."

He gave Ahriman a questioning look. What did they have in store for him? He didn't like the sounds of it though. Within seconds he was roughly pushed off his chair and forced on the ground. He was pinned on the ground as his hands were pulled behind him and tied.

"What?"

He struggled but to no avail, the other guard had an iron grip. He had a bad feeling about this. Next he was grabbed from behind and forced to kneel.

"Leave us."

Keeping his eyes on Ahriman, Carson heard the anonymous guard leave the room. He felt his mouth go dry as he watched his ruthless capture pace the room.

"I am going to ask you again. Who put you up to this murderous act?"

"I didn't kill him."

"I am losing my patience with you."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Carson mumbled sarcastically.

He groaned when he was punched in the face again. Him and his big mouth, he just had to say something.

"Was it the other village?"

"I didn't kill him."

He was greeted by another punch this time on his side causing him to hunch over.

"Who in the other village put you up to this?"

"I've already told you."

"Answer my questions! You will only cause yourself more pain by delaying the inevitable. Don't lie to me. I know the other village set this up."

"Set up what?"

Answered with another punch to his already sore side, his face screwed up in pain.

"Stop pretending you do not know what I am talking about!"

"But I don't," he panted out.

"I know you have been spying on us."

"That's outrageous! I'm not even from this planet. This is the first time even visiting."

He saw the floor rush up to him, unable to stop himself from falling, as the latest punch knocked him to the floor, which caused his shoulder to throb again. Lying there he tried to make sense of what was happening. It seemed like Ahriman wanted him to take the blame for Xerxes' death. Looking up from his uncomfortable position on the floor he was met with angry eyes. Groaning he tried to push himself up, his shoulder aching painfully as he struggled to sit up. Unable to push himself up he rolled over and tried with his other shoulder. What seemed like hours he was finally back in a kneeling position. Panting he slowly gazed up and met the cold hard eyes of the ruthless man standing before him.

"How long have you spied for the other village?"

"I'm not a spy! Today was the first time I've ever set foot there.

A hard punch to his sore side left him breathless and hunching forward.

"Please my Lord, I've been telling you the truth," he gasped.

Carson struggled with his bonds, pulling against the rope that held his hands in place. If he could just loosen it up a bit. His wrists burned as the rope cut into them, leaving them raw. He knew it was hopeless, the knot was too tight but he felt vulnerable kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back stuck in a room with a violent leader.

"How can I believe your word when you failed to heal our leader?"

Ahriman's face was filled with anger as he punched Carson's unprotected side. Carson closed his eyes in pain and took a few unsteady breaths. With his head bowed he tried to calm himself. He tensed up when he felt a hand lift his head up not too gently.

"Would you like me to stop? I can see you are in pain. All you have to do is answer my questions truthfully and I will stop."

Carson felt himself freeze up. As much as he wanted Ahriman to stop punching him, he didn't want to start lying. He struggled with his bonds again only stopping when he felt something like liquid drip down his hands, his own blood. His spirit dropping with despair realizing there was absolutely no way to loosen his bonds. He took a deep breath before speaking hoping he didn't sound as weak as he felt.

He looked Ahriman directly in the eye, "I have been telling you the truth. I'm not a spy and I didn't kill him. If I had more supplies perhaps things would have been different."

"Perhaps things would have been different. I do not like what you are implying. What has happened is in the past and now you must face the consequences to your actions." He paused and shook his head slightly.

"Just as I feared, you are a very stubborn man Doctor Beckett. I am going to have to continue questioning you until you confess to the crimes you have committed."

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Rodney paced around the room, mumbling to himself. It felt like Carson had been gone for hours. Looking at his watch it showed it had only been twenty minutes. He was worried about his friend, these villagers didn't seem that friendly, mostly their new leader. Ahriman had already socked Carson in the face for trying to save Xerxes. Thinking back on the past events, they should have run when they had the chance. Sighing he looked around the room, taking in all the details. Just his luck there was only one door and nothing really to defend himself with besides the pot thing. Wait he could use that to knock Delano out with, which shouldn't be too hard. Delano was sitting, still as a rock, on the ground looking at Xerxes or rather his body, his eyes distant. On second thoughts he didn't know where their "new friends" had taken Carson and he wasn't about to leave him behind. Pacing in front of the door he tried to assess their dire situation. Ahriman looked really mad when Carson told them their leader had just died. He feared what these villagers had in store for his friend especially when Xerxes, before his death, begged them to flee. A ray of light from across the room blinded him for a few seconds. Moving out of the way he could see it came from the window. Wait the window! Maybe he could see where they were and when Carson was brought back they could escape through it. Slowly he approached the window. Trying to be casual about it he walked along the wall, pretending to be looking at it. He gave Delano and the body a wide berth; dead bodies gave him the creeps. At the window he gazed out he saw it was getting dark. He could make out a single building and the surrounding woods. There were a couple of guards walking along the tree line. Well it didn't look like escaping out the window was going to be an option. Turning around, hearing a knock at the door, he saw two unfamiliar villagers clad in white. One came barring two torches, why anyone needed two torches lit at the same time was beyond him, and the second held a bundle of cloth.

"Delano you must take this traveler back to the other room," the villager with the torches told Delano.

Delano broke out of his dazed state and looked up.

"We must prepare Xerxes for his burial tomorrow."

Delano nodded and stood. Facing Rodney he said, "Please come this way."

"Wait…"

Rodney started to protest. He wanted to know where Carson was but seeing the look Delano was shooting at him he stopped and walked away from the window. He followed him out of the room into the hallway. Unlike the first time the way was lit by the torch Delano was handed as they left the room. Wondering where he was being lead to, he thought back to what the villager said, the other room. Did that mean the room Carson and he first woke up in? Most likely it was the same room. They walked down the hallway. All that could be heard were their footsteps against the floor. Now seemed like the opportune time to ask Delano where his friend was.

"Delano could you…"

"Not now."

He stopped and faced Rodney.

Whispering he added, "It is not safe to discuss the matter in the open. I will answer any questions you may have when we get to the room."

He then turned around and continued walking. Rodney bent his head, he didn't like waiting, but seeing no other choice than to trust Delano he started to follow him down the hallway again in silence. Soon all that could be heard were their footsteps.

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A.N. A special thanks to IguanaMom and my reviewers. Sorry for the long delay, I'll try not to let it happen again.


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. I'm sooo sorry it took so long. I'll to be a little faster next time but school is starting and I don't know how much free time I'll have. :(

Once again a special thanks to IguanaMom and to those of you who took the time to send in reviews. I really appreciate all your feedback!

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Ch 8

They were completely surrounded by darkness as the cave opening closed. John looked around trying to see but was unsuccessful. Near him he heard what sounded like someone tripping.

"Ouch."

The voice didn't sound very familiar; it was probably someone from the rescue team.

"Are you…"

He started to ask as light filled the cave. He winced as the lights blinded him and he squinted as his eyes adjusted.

"A little warning would have been nice."

"Sorry Major Sheppard." Uma gave him a sincere apology smile.

"It's fine, just next time give us a little warning."

She nodded.

"Who tripped?" Curious to see who was almost as clumsy as McKay.

"I did sir." Private Kyle Goodrich responded, his face turning a little red.

"Just try to be more careful next time."

"Yes sir." John turned to Uma and missed Private Howell poke Kyle.

Looking around the cave they could see that the light was coming from a stone type alter similar to the DHD.

"How did you turn it on?" John asked.

"My brother, myself, and a few others have the ability to turn on the stone of the ancestors."

"Others?" Teyla asked, curious.

"I believe we are the only ones from our village that can. The others that can are from the other village."

"The other village as in the one your village is at war with?" Disbelief was clear in Aiden's voice as he asked.

Uma nodded.

"There are a few of us that do not wish for this conflict to continue. My sister and I have been trying to convince our people to put their differences aside and end the war. While Sandor has been trying to convince the other villagers," Talos explained.

"Wait, are you saying Sandor is actually from the other village?" inquired John.

"Yes Major Sheppard. We met when we were but young children in the woods and soon formed a friendship. Since Sandor learned many of our village customs the elders welcomed him into the village with open arms, they never suspected he was from the other village until recently."

"Until recently. Do you mean when he helped kidnap our Doctors McKay and Beckett?" asked Teyla.

Uma and Talos both nodded.

"Before all of you came through the gate of the ancestors, Sandor believed he had convinced Xerxes, the leader of the other village, to stop fighting with our village. Sometime since you have been here we have reason to believe that Ahriman, Xerxes' second in command, has taken leadership of the others," Uma said.

"We believe Xerxes was injured and Sandor brought your Doctors McKay and Beckett to his home village to save him. Xerxes surviving is our only hope for peace between our to villages," Talos added.

"Just out of curiosity, what would happen if Doctor Beckett wasn't able to cure Xerxes?" asked Sergeant Samuel Edwin.

John looked at him and Samuel replied with a sheepish look on his face, "Sorry sir. I was just curious."

John just shrugged his shoulders, "It's fine Sergeant. I had the same question myself."

Talos cleared his throat before responding to Samuel's question, "We fear Ahriman will continue to attack our village until we or them are all wiped out."

"What of our men?"

Talos and Uma looked at each other before Uma replied.

"From the little Sandor has told us of Ahriman, things do not look good for either of them. That is why we must find them soon."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go. We're wasting time here."

"Major Sheppard, my sister and I have never been to the other village before. We only have Sandor's directions. It would be best if we try to reach it during the day light."

"We will be able to leave at dawn. Please rest, we have sometime before the sun rises again."

They had little choice but to comply.

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John sat against the cave wall, lost in thought. He didn't like waiting when two of his men, good friends, were with a not so nice sounding leader.

"Major Sheppard?"

He looked up and saw Teyla carrying a steaming bowl of something that smelled good.

"Uma was wondering if you wanted some soup?"

He eyed the bowl before shrugging his shoulders and taking the bowl.

"Thanks."

Teyla nodded and sat down beside him. Neither of them spoke for a few moments, Aiden and some of the members of the rescue team were further down the cave talking about something; he could not make out exactly what they were saying.

"It's not your fault."

"What isn't Teyla? What are you talking about?"

"McKay and Beckett being captured. There was no way of knowing this would have happened."

"I know but I had to basically drag Beckett to come with us. If I hadn't…"

"Major there is nothing you can do about it now. Stop blaming yourself. The only way we can help them now is to find them soon."

John nodded, looking back at his team members he saw Uma approaching. He wondered what she wanted now.

"Major Sheppard. I would like to apologize for my early behavior at my village. I had to make the Elders believe I was going to obey them. I am sorry for misguiding you with my actions."

"It's fine." Sheppard replied.

"If there are any questions you wish to ask feel free to do so. I would be most honored do answer any of them."

"Actually I do have a few."

Uma smiled and nodded, "Yes?"

"How many people exactly are in your group in trying to end this war?"

"Not that many. It is truly hard to convince people to change their mind about this conflict after living like this for many years. In time we hope to have many scores of people for our cause."

"But how many people do you have now?"

"Maybe five or six."

John sighed, he was hoping they would have more people for their cause.

"How many people know about this cave?"

"Oh, only a few; my brother, Sandor, another person from his village, and myself. I stumbled across this cave many years ago, when I was still a young child. It has provided many years of protection and a safe meeting place for those who wish this war to come to an end. This cave can only be opened by those who were born with the gift of the ancestors."

"Do you mean those who can turn on the ancestors' stone?" Teyla asked.

Uma nodded.

"Are there many things that can be turned on with this gift on your planet?"

"I do not believe so."

Teyla and John looked at each other.

"Do you think I could try turning on your stone thing?" John asked.

"The stone of the ancestors?"

"Yep, that thing."

"You could try if you would like to."

John nodded.

"Certainly, there is another stone of the ancestors in this cave by the other entrance you can try to turn on."

She waited until they were standing before she led them to the other stone. Uma led them further down the cave, passed their team members. After a few minutes they were in front of another DHD looking stone. They could hear something from behind the cave wall that sounded like water.

"Uma was is behind this wall?" Teyla asked.

"This is the other entrance to this cave. It is behind a waterfall; tomorrow we will leave from this entrance. From here it is a short distance away from the other village." Turning to John she said, "To turn on the stone of the ancestor all one must do is place their hands on those markings."

She pointed to some symbols on the stone panel.

"Well here goes nothing," he mumbled to himself before placing his hands on the symbols.

Within seconds the stone lit up. Turning to Teyla, she gave him a smile.

"It looks like your theory was correct Major."

"I can not believe you were able to turn it on," Uma voiced in disbelief, "Are there many from your world that are graced with this gift?"

"There are a few."

"That is amazing. Any one else from your team?"

"Only Doctors McKay and Beckett."

"I am truly amazed. I never would have believed anyone else from another world would have this gift."

"Well there is always a first," John suggested.

"I guess there is. Come we should rest a while. We shall be leaving to go after your friends soon."

Was it the twentieth or thirtieth time Ahriman had punched him? Carson really had no idea, though he knew for sure he was sporting a bloody nose, a very sore shoulder, and possibly cracked ribs; they were sore for certain as were his wrists.

"How many times must we continue this until before you give me the truth?" Ahriman yelled.

"I have been telling the truth. Personally I would appreciate it if we would stop continuing this."

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Like the times before he was answered with a powerful punch. The force of it knocked him off his knees into the chair he was sitting in hours ago. Pain shot through his head when he fell against the chair, then as his shoulder made contact with the floor the agonizing pain he had been feeling in his shoulder doubled. Laying on the ground his breaths came out in gasps. He felt dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness. His temple was throbbing with each pulse, his eyes feeling heavy. The only thing he was aware of was the pain. Where were Sheppard and his team? He didn't know how much more he could take of this. Hearing footsteps he looked up and was horrified to see Ahriman, actually his boots, walking towards him. He tried unsuccessfully to move, his limbs seemed to be unresponsive, he felt so tired. Carson eyed the boots wearily when they stopped before him. His eyes seemed to grow heavier and he barely noticed Ahriman kneeling before him. Suddenly he felt two strong hands grabbing him up by his jacket, so that they were eye to eye.

"I am going to ask you one last time. Who in the other village put you up to this murderous act? How long have you been a spy?"

Carson took a deep breath before answering, knowing that his response was going to meet with pain.

"Like I told you before, I didn't kill him and I'm not a spy. If I had more supplies I might have been able to save him."

He saw Ahriman's face fill with anger.

"Very well."

Looking at him confused he barely had time to think about what he meant by 'very well' before the ground was rushing up towards him at a fast speed. He hit the ground with a sickening thud. A bursting pain erupted in his head causing him to screw his eyes shut. Hoping the interrogation would stop, he started to feel the darkness closing in. He half laughed to himself as he recognized the signs of a concussion then there was nothing as the darkness overtook him. If he had remained conscious he would have seen the evil glint in Ahriman's eyes. Ahriman smiled to himself before yelling for the anonymous guard that he sent out of the room to return. The guard bowed his head, not meeting Ahriman's eyes.

"Yes my Lord?"

"Take the traveler back to the room."

"As you command my Lord."

The guard lifted Carson on to his shoulder and left the room.

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It was uncomfortably silent as Rodney followed Delano down the hallway. Finally Delano stopped at a door, opening it he ushered Rodney inside. Once the door was closed Delano said, "I believe you have some questions you wish to ask me."

"That would be nice," Rodney replied sarcastically then added, "Could you tell me where Carson is?"

"I do not know the precise location but I most certainly know what will done with your friend. I hope for your friend's sake I am wrong."

"What?"

"Ahriman will most likely question him until he gets the answer he wants."

"He's questioning him? For what?"

"Xerxes' death. I believe Ahriman wishes to place blame for his death on Carson."

"Are you saying Ahriman will question Carson until he admits to killing Xerxes?"

"I am afraid so."

Rodney was getting more and more worried for his friend. He knew Carson wasn't the type of person to lie.

"What will happen if he doesn't confess?"

Delano looked down at the ground, mumbling some incoherent words.

"What?"

"It will be very painful."

"Painful? What…" Just as he was asking, Rodney felt the blood drain out of his face as he realized what Delano was implying.

"You mean they're going to torture Carson until he tells them he killed Xerxes?"

Delano avoided Rodney's imploring eyes and nodded slowly. Rodney quickly made his way to the door. There was no way he was going to stay in the room if the villagers were possibly torturing his good friend. Just as he was opening it Delano rammed against it, closing it, and stood in front of it.

"Please we must stay here."

"Move out of my way!"

"Please if you leave you will only bring more pain for your friend and yourself."

Rodney bowed his head in defeat; he wanted to help Carson not cause more pain for him.

"Fine."

"I am truly sorry."

Rodney didn't reply and walked away from the door. Sitting against the wall, he brought his knees up and buried his head in his hands. How were they going to get out of this mess?

"Do you have any more questions?"

Looking up he saw Delano sitting in front of him with a concerned look on his face.

"Why is Ahriman questioning Carson in hope of his confession of Xerxes' death?"

"When Xerxes became injured there were a few of my people who believed Ahriman was behind it. Ahriman has always seemed to want more control in the village. Now with you and Carson here in our village Ahriman can put the blame on one or both of you."

"What will happen with Ahriman in charge now?" Rodney asked, dreading the answer.

"I believe he will continue attacking the other village until they are all wiped out. These past years Xerxes was close to a peaceful end to this conflict with the other village. Now I fear it will never end."

"Couldn't you and the other people in your village who are against Ahriman try to over throw him?"

Delano shook his head, "There are only a hand full of us. Many of my people are afraid of consequences of openly disagreeing with Ahriman."

"Couldn't you just leave?"

"I…" Delano stopped suddenly, "Shh… we must be silent now. I hear someone approaching. I will answer your remaining questions later."

Just as he stopped talking, the door flew open revealing one the guards who left with Ahriman earlier. He had someone familiar looking draped over his shoulder. Without a word the guard dumped his cargo on the floor and left the room, slamming the door shut on his way out. The guard's cargo made a sickening sound as it hit the floor. Rodney rushed over to the body half hoping it wasn't Carson. The uniform the body was wearing looked familiar and reaching the body he gently rolled it over on to its back. He gasped as he saw Carson's familiar face bruised and bloody. Quickly feeling for a pulse he let out a sigh of relief when he felt one. His eyes never leaving Carson's still figure he said, "Delano could you bring me our vests and…"

He never had the chance to finish as Delano rushed out of the room. Hopefully Carson's injuries weren't that severe and they would be able to escape. For some reason, he didn't think this was the last time they were going to meet with Ahriman and their next meeting was going to be far from painless.


	9. Chapter 9

A quick author's note: Just to let everyone know, I am posting this chapter without it being betaed... I take full responsibility for any mistakes, hopefully they will be at a minimum. Sorry for the long delay in updating this story.

Thank you to all of you who reviewed. :) It means a lot to me that you took the time to review my story.

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Chapter 9

Rodney tried to calm himself down when Delano left the room, hopefully for help or medical supplies. He took deep breaths; desperately wishing Carson was awake. Of course the only one in the room with most medical training was the one that needed it himself. Maybe he should have played more attention when Carson insisted all teams have some medical training. Looking at his friend's bruised and bloody face again he winced; it looked painful. He wondered what Carson exactly said to make Ahriman so mad. The door opened suddenly and Delano came in bearing their vests with some other supplies. The teen hurried over and laid down his cargo. Rodney ruffed through the pockets on Carson's vest, pulling out some gauze.

"Do you need anything else?"

Rodney looked at his friend's face again, for a second time that day he wished he knew more about bandaging up wounds.

"Some water."

"I shall bring you some shortly."

He hurried out of the room again, leaving Rodney alone with Carson. Rodney sighed; he wondered how his team always managed to find trouble. As gently as he could he pressed some on the gaze onto the nasty looking cut on his friend's temple. He couldn't tell what other injuries the doctor might be sporting besides a battered face and a concussion. Delano returned the room and placed a wooden bowl filled with water besides him. Grabbing one of the small pieces of cloth Delano had brought earlier he dipped it in the water. Carefully he wiped some of the blood off Carson's face. He wished he would wake up; it was strange seeing his friend in desperate need of medical attention.

"Do you think he will be alright?"

He looked up and met Delano's worried face. Not really knowing what to say he decided to tell the truth. The truth never hurt right?

"I don't know."

Upon seeing Delano's face pale maybe lying would have been better.

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John was wandering through the woods by the stargate; the ground was barely visible through the thick fog. He knew he was looking for something but he couldn't remember what. It felt like something important, he knew a second ago. It was right there, frowning when it still didn't come to him. He stopped in place as he heard a familiar voice call out in pain. Running toward the direction of the yell he rushed by the trees, brushing aside the branches not caring if they hit him. He could just make out a village ahead of him. Finally entering the village that seemed vaguely familiar he came to a stop, finding it almost impossible to see anything with the fog covering the ground. Looking around he felt a cold gust of wind swept by him clearing the ground. He felt his heart stop as he saw a familiar figure propped against one of the buildings. It couldn't be. Running towards the person, time seemed to slow down. His footsteps and panic breaths filled the silence but all he could hear was his racing heart. Reaching the person he kneeled in front of him, he reached out a hesitate hand and shook the person's shoulder gently. To his surprise the person started to lean toward the ground, he caught the man and laid him on the ground. Finally seeing whom it was he gasped in shock.

"Doctor Beckett?"

He shook the doctor's shoulder.

"Carson?"

He then quickly grabbed his friend's wrist and felt for a pulse; to his horror he didn't find one. As he was about to start CPR he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. Spinning around he saw a very pale Rodney.

"McKay?" He asked in disbelief.

Rodney mumbled something but he was unable to hear it.

"What?"

"Why?" Rodney whispered.

"Why what?"

"Why did you take so long to find us?"

"I…"

"You killed us."

"No…"

"You know you did."

Before he could respond he felt someone shake his shoulder and heard a distance voice call out his name.

"Major Sheppard."

He turned and didn't see anyone. Then he felt the hand and voice again.

"John?"

Turning he saw no one. He felt the hand shake his shoulder harder. He jerked awake and found Teyla staring at him, concern in her eyes.

"John, are you alright?"

John rubbed his eyes and shook himself, "Yea. Just a little tired."

Glazing around he noticed the rest of his team members up and about.

"Are we leaving?"

Teyla nodded. Getting up he rubbed his stiff neck. He must have fallen asleep while sitting up.

"Come we shall best be leaving now," Uma spoke as she approached them.

They nodded and followed her toward the other end of the cave.

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Carson was slowly became aware of voices whispering nearby. Keeping his eyes closed he tried to determine who they were, they sounded familiar. Where was he? He ached all over, he groaned, and tried to roll over on his side. He didn't hear the footsteps rushing over to him. He hissed in pain as his injured shoulder made contact with the hard floor. He stopped and laid back on his back in defeat. His "friendly" meeting with Ahriman was slowly coming back to him.

"Carson?"

He gingerly opened his eyes and found himself staring into Rodney's concerned eyes.

"Rodney?" He asked, his voice coming out barely louder than a whisper.

"Thank god you're awake! Now tell me what to do."

"What?"

"In case you haven't noticed you're hurt and I'm not exactly a qualified master of voodoo. So tell me how to fix you."

Carson shut his eyes in frustration. How many times did he have to tell Rodney he was a medical doctor not some voodoo practitioner. Suddenly feeling extremely sleepy he wanted more than anything else to go to sleep. A light tap on his cheek brought him out of his thoughts.

"Go away," he moaned barely opening his eyes.

"Don't close your eyes! You have a concussion, you need to stay awake."

"Bugger off."

"Oh no you don't. Every time I have a concussion you always keep waking me up. You need to stay awake. Are you a doctor or not?"

Carson opened his eyes completely at the word doctor and grinned slightly.

"Aye I am."

He slowly tried to sit up but was stopped by Rodney.

"Whoa, shouldn't you stay laying down?"

"I'm fine. Just help me up. If I stay any longer on the floor I won't be able to keep my eyes open."

"Okay."

Carson bit his lip to keep himself cry out in pain as Rodney helped him sit up.

"Are you okay?"

Rodney peered at his face with concern.

"Aye."

Just as Rodney opened his mouth to reply the door slammed opened revealing two guards, different from the two that dragged Carson out earlier. The taller of the two approached the pair on the floor. Before a word could be said Rodney was grabbed, not too gently, by his arm and pulled toward the door.

"Let go of me."

"Ahriman wishes for your presence."

"What for?"

"You must come now."

"I rather not."

The guard raised his hand to strike Rodney as Carson quickly stood up, ignoring the pain he was feeling.

"Leave him alone."

Turning the guard glared at him.

"What did you say?"

"He wants to know why Ahriman wants to see him. That's no reason to resort to violence."

"How dare you!"

Before Carson could blink he was knocked to the ground with a blow. He lay grasping on the cold ground. He vaguely was aware of Rodney protesting in the background. Just as the guard was about to kick him, Delano stood protectively in front of the downed doctor.

"Leave him. I believed he has learned his lesson. Ahriman would be most crossed if the second traveler is not brought to him in a timely fashion."

The guard was silent as he pondered what the young teen said. Slowly he nodded his head and left the room with a protesting Rodney in tow. When they were gone and door closed, Delano quickly bent down to the still doctor on the floor.

"Carson, are you alright?"

The doctor in question had his eyes closed and was clutching his arm.

"Aye I will be. Just give me a few seconds."

The teen nodded.

"Could you help me up?"

Delano helped him into a sitting position, causing Carson to groan slightly.

"Perhaps it would be best if you laid back down?"

"I'll be fine."

Delano gave him a suspecting look, clearly not believing the doctor. Carson shrugged it off; there wasn't much that could be done for him. His shoulder felt like it was on fire and he was on the verge of consciousness. He desperately wanted to be back in the safety of his infirmary. Attempting not to think about it much further he looked at Delano.

"So what does Ahriman want from Rodney and myself?"

"He wishes to blame you and your friend for Xerxes' death."

"I figured that much but why?"

"The way Xerxes became injured seemed very suspicious to many of my people. It has been rumored Ahriman has been wanted to take over the village. To draw attention away from himself he is blaming both of you and since you're not from around here many will believe him."

"Is he going to question Rodney?"

Delano merely nodded. Carson grimaced at the thought; he hoped John was close to finding them for both their sakes.

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Rodney was roughly dragged down the corridor. He struggled against the two guards but he couldn't free himself from their grasp. After walking a few minutes he was pushed through a doorway into a room, not too gently. Ahriman stood in the middle of the room with his back facing them. Rodney had a sudden urge to leave the room. He tried to make his way to the door but was held in place by the two guards. Slowly Ahriman turned to face him with a frightening smile on his face. Rodney felt his heart pound against his chest, he had a feeling this meeting was going to be less that pleasant.

"Ah Doctor McKay. It is nice to see you have decided to join us."

"What?"

"Ouch…" He moaned when he was cuffed on the back of his head. "What was that for?"

Ahriman's smile was gone and was replaced with a cold glare.

"You may not speak unless spoken to! I have already explained this to your companion. For your sake I pray to hope you are not as stubborn as he is."

Rodney only glared at him defiantly. Never let the enemy see how truly scared you are, he kept thinking to himself. He tried to will his heart to slow down but was unsuccessful.

"Perhaps you will answer the questions your friend refused? Or do you wish for the same fate?"

"What questions might that be?" Rodney asked trying to sound oblivious.

"Why have you and your fellow traveler betrayed us so brutally after we welcomed both of you with open arms into our humble village?"

"Betrayed?" Rodney asked as he snorted at Ahriman's outrageous question.

"I do not see the any amusement in this situation! Answer my question!"

"What question?" He knew he shouldn't be pushing Ahriman's buttons but he couldn't help himself, he had a horrible habit of saying whatever was on his mind. Another cuff to the back of his head had him groaning again.

"I will not tolerate your incompetence much further. I will only ask you nicely once more. Why did you and your fellow traveler murder Xerxes?"

"We didn't kill him."

"Then what happened?"

"We…I…I think he bleed out and there weren't enough medical supplies. I'm sure if Carson had more…"

"You think? Are you are not the healer's assistant?"

"Uh…I'm still in training. Carson's more of an expert than me."

"So you are saying it is the healer's fault? That he committed the murder?"

"No! All I'm saying is if things had been differently there might be some remote chance he would still be alive."

"How dare you imply that I am to blame for my great leader's death. I am one of his most loyal servants. I would gladly give my life to save his, if it were only possible. Now answer my question, I do not care for your opinion on the matter. Why did you and the healer murder Xerxes?"

"As I said before, we didn't kill him."

"Fine if you shall not answer that question perhaps you will to this next one. How long have you and your companion been spies for the other village?"

"What? You think we're spies?"

"What else would you both be to commit this horrific act?"

"Travelers from another planet and second of all I didn't kill him."

"So the healer killed him?"

"No! We both didn't kill him and we aren't spies."

"How do I know both or one of you killed Xerxes when you were alone in the room with him?"

"Because we didn't and he died from his injuries which he had before we were so kindly brought here."

"We do not take kindly to liars here. This is the very last time I am going to ask you nicely. Why did you kill him?"

"I didn't. You're just as…"

A fierce punch in his abdomen prevented his next sarcastic comment.

"I want answers not your assumptions! Answer my question!"

"I already did."

"Fine. Who in the other village put you up to this murderous act?"

"What." Yet again another punch greeted him, leaving him short of breath.

"You heard me, now answer my question!"

"We're not from the other village and we don't work for them."

Ahriman's eyes narrowed and he stepped toward Rodney. He grabbed him by the front of his jacket and looked him in the eye.

"Just as I feared. It appears you are as stubborn as your friend. I'm afraid our little meeting will not be pleasant for you if you continue to evade my questions."

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Uma led the team to the other end of the cave and pressed something on the wall. As the cave wall slide open water could be heard. Opened up completely they could see the back of a waterfall.

"This way. Please be careful, it is very slippery."

Uma gesturing them to follow, she walked carefully to the side of the waterfall. They followed her and found themselves by a river in the forest again. The air was cold and there was a faint mist surrounding. John shook himself, reminded of his nightmare. He turned to Uma and asked, "How far is the other village from here?"

"It should only be an hour or so. We must keep our voices low. Sandor has mentioned his village have scouts along the tree line of their village."

They nodded and followed Uma and Talos into the woods, the sun slowly rising overhead.

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The door slammed opened, breaking the silence in the room, and a battered Rodney was thrown into the room. Carson and Delano rushed over to him, Carson ignoring his own pain as he kneeled beside his friend. Rodney was curled up on his side, both of his arms around his abdomen.

"Rodney?"

"I'm fine. Just a little sore."

Carson gave him a look telling him he didn't believe him.

"Really."

"You weren't gone very long."

"I guess Ahriman doesn't like me as much as he liked you."

Sighing Carson rolled his eyes. Even when he was injured Rodney still had his sarcastic personality.

"I do not believe I understand? Ahriman was most harsh with Carson," remarked Delano with confusion written all over his face.

"Just ignore him lad, even I don't understand all the time," Carson replied.

"Hey! I…"

"Rodney stop. I need you to tell me where you hurt."

The physicist in question just sighed as he noticed Carson was in his doctor mode. Hopefully he wouldn't be blinded with the evil penlight.

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Walking for an hour they could finally make out a village up ahead. The village was around the same size as the one they left from.

"Your friends should be in that big building over there," Uma whispered to John, pointing out the biggest building.

"Are you certain?"

"If this is indeed the village, they should be there."

"Where are the scouts?"

They all looked around and didn't see anyone; the forest around them was still.

"It is possible their village is performing an ancient ceremony that requires everyone."

"Alright. Teyla you're with me. Goodrich and Reynolds take the left. Edwin, Howell, and Ford take the right."

They nodded in response.

John turned to their guides, "Both of you stay here."

Talos opened his mouth to protest but Uma beat him to it.

"We will do as you wish Major Sheppard."

"Okay. Let's go."

They crept toward the towering building with their weapons out, seeking cover behind the numerous rocks and trees they lay in their path. John felt his heart racing as he moved. Within seconds they should have Rodney and Carson back. More than anything else he wanted this nightmare to end and to back on Atlantis. They were almost to their target location. Their quick footsteps could be heard as their boots crunched the dry grass in their path. Pausing only a few seconds behind the shelter of some boulders, not seeing anyone approaching they ran the last few yards to the building. They pressed themselves against the outside wall of the building by the door. Seeing everyone there John didn't wait any longer, he kicked the door open and rushed into the room with his team following.


	10. Chapter 10

A.N. Well here's the lastest chapter (sorry for the long wait again) but like chapter 9 this chapter hasn't been corrected by my beta yet... So all the mistakes are mine, hopefully there aren't too many of them. Thank you all of you who took the time to write a review :) Please let me know what you think and Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it. :D

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Chapter 10

Ahriman leaned against the windowsill and looked at the view before him. The thick trees stood nearby, their leaves glistening in the sunlight. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky overhead, he figured it was around midday.

He felt his lips curl into a smirk as he thought about the recent events. Everything was running perfectly; his plan was working out even better than he had hoped for. It must have been the wishes of the ancestors for the two foolish travelers to fall into his hands. When he had slyly arranged for Xerxes to be in the midst the thick of the previous battle he had been a little, not much, worried his fellow villagers would blame him for their leader's severe injuries. If Xerxes hadn't changed his mind about continuing the war Ahriman wouldn't have tried to gain leadership.

Ahriman shook his head fondly at the thought of his past chief, remembering the earlier years when Xerxes still firmly believed in the war. He did like the man but thought he was too forgiving. It was the other village's fault for the whole situation and who gave them the right to decide what traditions to practice? The other village simply did not understand they were fighting to maintain their way of life and also partly because they were superior to them. With the leadership in his hands and no one questioning him Ahriman could continue the war.

His smirk grew more evil as he thought about his plan with the travelers. There would be no use to send them back to their own now that he had a purpose for them. He knew there were a few of his people that suspected him in Xerxes' death. Was there a better way to persuade them than to place the blame on the two travelers? He did not think so. The ancestors surely must have been smiling down on him for he had feared the healer would have the skills to heal Xerxes. He had been thankful that even with the healer's skills Xerxes had still died.

Sighing in content, he thought over his plan. It was prefect; all he had to do was to get the two travelers to confess to killing Xerxes. Leaving his post by the window he began to pace the room. Both travelers were extremely stubborn, it would be a true blessing from the ancestors if he managed to get them to admit to the crime. How could he get them to confess to a crime they did not commit? Suddenly it came to him, he grinned; it would work for sure. He had no doubt in his mind about it. Walking to the door he threw it open, barking out to a guard standing by the door.

"Send for the prisoners!"

"At once my Lord."

As the guard hurried away as Ahriman retreated back into the room. Soon his plan would be completed and he would have the full support of his people.

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John stared at the room in disbelief. No one was there. The room only contained a few chairs and a small table. How could this be? Rodney and Carson were suppose to be here! He looked around franticly, hoping for see another door but didn't see one. He wanted nothing more than this nightmare to be over.

"Major."

He looked over to his left at Teyla.

"I believe no one has been in this building in many months. This table is covered in dust," she said looking at the dust on her hand.

John closed his eyes in frustration. He had been hoping they had just picked the wrong building but now thinking back to how silent the village had been there was a very good chance it had been deserted for a while.

"Okay. Let's check the other buildings before heading back to Uma and Talos."

He led his team toward the door again. Before exiting he turned to them, "Keep your eyes out for any villagers."

They all nodded and were soon stealthily checking out the village for any occupants.

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All six remaining buildings were also empty in the village. The forest around them remained silent as they walked back to Uma and Talos.

"I trust you did not find them?" asked Talos.

John gave him a hard glare as if to say "you think?" Talos became visibly skittish under John's stare.

"We will most likely find your friends at the second village site." Uma said quickly, hoping to avoid any conflicts.

"How far exactly is this second location?" John asked wearily.

He was beginning to lose his patience with the whole situation. The siblings exchanged a nervous glance, not a very good sign, before Uma spoke again.

"About another day's journey from here, I believe."

"You believe?"

"Neither of us has been to the actual site and it is in the opposite direction from this location."

"Fine just lead the way. The sooner we find them the better."

"Very well, it should be this way."

"Wait should be?"

"Yes, if the village is not located at the next place we are heading to. I'm afraid we really have no idea where they might be…"

Uma's voice trailed off as John let out an annoyed sigh.

"Fine, just show us where you think the other village might be."

Uma nodded, leading them back towards the cave and hopefully closer towards the two missing doctors.

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After being poked and blinded by Carson's medical examination Rodney sat on the ground against the wall glaring at the doctor. If looks could kill, Rodney figured Carson would have died at least five times by now.

"May I ask what I did to offend you this time Rodney?" Carson asked from his position across the room.

Instead of answering Rodney continued to glare at him. He scorned at his friend, as if the Doctor didn't know what he did! With neither of them being willing to speak the room fell silent. Seconds dragged onto minutes as the silence remained. Unnerved at being stared at for so long Carson finally broke the silence.

"You're being childish."

"No I'm not!"

"You are."

"No I'm not!"

"Then why are you glaring at me instead of telling me what I did to upset you?"

"As if you don't know what you did."

"If I knew would I be asking?"

There was a pause as Rodney comprehended those words. It actually did make sense that Carson didn't know what he did but that would be he was wrong and Rodney hated being wrong.

"Stop moving off topic."

Carson gave him an annoyed look.

"Did you really have to use the penlight? I could see fine both you blinded me with that light. Now I keep seeing these dark dots everywhere. You know how much I hate that offensive object!"

"The penlight?"

"No your watch! Yes the penlight!"

"Calm down Rodney."

"Calm down? Like that's easy to do when you're being held against your will by some manic dictator who wants to blame you and your friend for his chief's death!"

Carson sighed and rubbed a weary hand over his eyes, finally realizing what Rodney was getting so worked up about.

"Rodney, its okay to be a wee bit scared. There's no reason to be ashamed of it."

"I'm not scared! It's just…just that the incompetent scientists I left unsupervised might have destroyed half my lab already!"

Seeing the disbelief on Carson's face, he mumbled softly.

"Okay, maybe just a little."

Standing up he started to pace around the room nervously, mumbling under his breath.

"Rodney?"

Instead of answering he continued to mumble incoherently to himself.

"Rodney?" Carson asked again, becoming more and more concerned.

"We need to get out of here. We can't stay any longer!"

"Rodney…"

"You're disagreeing with me even after you were beaten up for telling the truth? How…"

"I wasn't disagreeing with you. It's just that if we do get out, where would we go? What direction? We have no idea where the stargate is from here. We'll most likely be walking around in endless circles."

"It's better to be lost than being someone's punching bag!"

"No! You mustn't leave. If you do your lives will be at risk!" Delano stood up and looked ready to fling himself in front of the door to prevent the two doctors from leaving the room.

"They already are if you haven't noticed," retorted Rodney, eyeing the teen with annoyance.

"There are many guards throughout the village you will not get very far before you are caught. They will not hesitate to use excessive force. Please both of you must stay in this room. If you attempt to escape I am most certain Ahriman would have you both executed on the spot."

"We might if we don't leave soon! Look at Carson here, how much more do you think he can take?"  
"I'm fine Rodney!"

"Sure you are. You can barely keep your eyes open, not to mention the pained expression you have on your face."

"So you're a doctor now?"

"I wouldn't say doctor but I've seen and received enough of your voodoo practices to know you've not very well off. If we were home and I was in your situation I would be in the infirmary!"

"Its medicine not voodoo Rodney, for the last time!"

"It's the same thing. They both involve someone, mostly me, being jabbed by a needle."

"You wouldn't be subjected to a needle if you stopped getting injured."

"Hey! I don't get…"

His remark was interrupted by the door slamming open, revealing Ahriman and a group of fierce guards.

"Both of you will come now," barked Ahriman.

"And what if we decide not to?" asked Rodney, not really wanting to leave with them. Who in their right mind would?

"Then I'm afraid some force will be used."

Ahriman then simply nodded to the guards. Two of the guards strolled over to Carson and without a word grabbed him by his arms, pulling him up painfully. While the other guards grabbed Rodney before he could prevent Carson from being moved. Ignoring Carson's cries of protest and feeble attempts to free himself, they dragged him toward the door.

"Stop! Can't you see you're hurting him?" Rodney yelled while he tried to free himself from the guard's grasps.

A strong jab to his back stopped his struggles. Without wasting anymore time they were dragged out of the door by the guards and down the hall but as Delano tried to follow he was stopped by Ahriman's arm.

"Your presence is no longer needed. Go report to Sandor, you will be sent for when you are needed again."

The teen nodded solemnly. He watched as Carson and Rodney were dragged further down the hall until the darkness swallowed them up. Delano stood there looking down the dark hallway, trying to push aside the ominous feelings he felt before heading out to fulfill the task given to him but was unable to. He hoped the two travelers, whom he had begun to like, would survive another meeting with Ahriman.

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Glancing backwards as they were being dragged down the hall, Rodney could see the concern in Delano's face. He winced as he was roughed pushed down the hall; he was definitely going to have bruises from this trip. Not wanting to risk angering Ahriman again and indirectly causing Carson more pain he decided to keep his mouth shut, at least for the time being. The light the hall was minimal, only allowing him to see Carson's solid form being dragged, literally, by the guards. The poor Doctor looked like a broken rag doll being dragged by two henchmen. They really needed to get back to Atlantis soon. He didn't think the Doctor could take much more abuse from their captors.

Relatively soon, they were pushed through a doorframe into a familiar room. Feeling his heart rate speed up, Rodney tried to calm himself but couldn't shake off the ominous feelings he was getting. The last visit to this particular room was far from painless. His attention was brought back to his friend as Carson let out a small cry of pain as he was dropped on the ground. He rushed forward to help Carson up only to find himself held back by the guards. Unable to do anything else he watched, with immense displeasure, Ahriman stand over the prone Doctor with a hard glare on his face.

"You will answer my questions truthfully this time or else you will have to bare with the consequences!"

"I have been telling you the truth," Carson said exasperatedly.

"Very well."

Ahriman turned to the guards and gave them a pointed look. Rodney shared a confused look with Carson before an unexpected punch to his abdomen left him hunched over and out of breath.

"Leave him alone! What do you want me from? I've been telling you the truth."

Ahriman seemed to think over what was said before looking at the guards again. Another punch to his abdomen brought Rodney to his knees.

"Stop! Please. You got to believe me. I didn't kill Xerxes. There was nothing I could have done from him here. Please just let us go."

"Enough with your lies, I'm tired of listening to you spin stories with your lies. I want the truth!"

"I have been."

Ahriman's eyes narrowed as he glared at Carson.

"I see we are going to do this the hard way once again," shaking his head he added; "I had thought you already learned your lesson during our last meeting."

"I've told you the truth!"

Before Carson could say anything else Ahriman whipped out a knife and held it against Rodney's throat. Both Carson's and Rodney's eyes widen in fear.

"No!"

"I am going to ask you once more. If you do not answer I am afraid your assistant here will have to bare the consequences, that is if he lives."

"I…"

"How hard can it be? Just tell me the truth. Who put you up to the murderous act of killing Xerxes?"

"I…"

"Answer!"

"I…"

Without a second thought Ahriman pressed the knife closer to Rodney's throat causing the scientist's eyes to widen even further in fear, he really didn't want to die.

"CONFESS NOW OR YOUR FRIEND DIES THIS VERY SECOND!"

Carson swallowed before mumbling.

"What was that?"

"I…I did. I killed him but…Rodney had nothing to do with it." Carson closed his eyes for a second before speaking again, "Please let him go, he's innocent. If you want to punish someone let it me."

Rodney looked at the Scottish Doctor with disbelief at what he was hearing; he had never known Carson to lie before but sighed in relief when the knife against his throat was lowered.

Ahriman grinned.

"I am truly pleased you have decided to tell the truth." He turned to the guards and barked, "Take the prisoners to the cells. They shall both be executed at dawn, tomorrow."

"No, wait. You said if I confessed you wouldn't kill him."

"It seems you misunderstood me. I said I would kill him now if you did not. Now that you have you both shall pay the price for your crimes. While I believe your confession I do not believe your lies. You truly must think I am a fool. I know your assistant was in on your plan. Guards get them out of my sight this instant!"

Ahriman watched the guards drag out the protesting prisoners. As the door shut, leaving him alone in the room, he smiled an absolutely scary expression to see on his face. Everything was going according to his plan. Once the travelers had been dealt with, he could control the village without any problems and crush the other village once and for all. Tomorrow was going to be a glorious day.


	11. Chapter 11

A.N. Here's chapter 11 finally! Sorry it took me so long to post it but since it took me so long I thought I would reward all of you with an extra long chapter, its well over 3,000 words. Like last chapter, this one has not been corrected by my beta yet, but I didn't want to make all of you wait any longer... so all the mistakes, which are hopefully to a minimum, are mine.

To my anonymous reviewer out there, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for taking the time to write a review. :) I hope the wait wasn't too long for you...

Also thank you to the rest of you who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate the feedback and hopefully the pagebreaks are better this time... please let me know.

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Chapter 11

Rodney and Carson were dragged out of the room into the dark hallway again before they could comprehend what had happened.

"Hey! Stop…"

Rodney started to say before he was cuffed on the back of his head. Instantly deciding it would less painful and safer to remain quiet; he stopped himself from making any further comments. He looked worriedly at his friend who looked defeated with his head bent down. It wasn't the Doctor's fault that they were in the mess they were in at the moment but knowing Carson he wouldn't see that way. He always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Within minutes of walking through the dark the hallway they found themselves back in the room they were first kept in. As expected they were basically tossed into the room causing them both to stumble through the doorway into the room. Both being as lucky as they were unable to keep their balance and fell on the floor, as the door was slammed shut. From the ground Rodney could hear the door being bolted shut. Groaning he pushed himself up on his knees and off the ground. Sheppard and company needed to come rescue them before dawn or there wouldn't be anyone to rescue. He wanted to kick the door in frustration but figured that wouldn't be too smart considering defiance was always met with violence in this village. Pacing the confines of the small room he tried to calm himself but found he was unable to. Glancing around the room he saw the still figure across the room. Rushing over to Carson he felt his heart racing in fear and concern.

"Carson?" The concern he was feeling was clear in his voice.

Instead of answering the person in question remained silent, his ragged breaths heard as his eyes were shut tight in pain.

"Carson?"

Letting out an unsteady breath the Doctor replied, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Aye."

Rodney felt like he was on the verge of panicking even more than he already was at hearing how weak and defeated Carson's voice sounded.

"Are you okay? Ah that was a stupid thing to ask…I know you're not okay. Anyone who can see can see you're far from being okay. I guess I mean how are you feeling."

Despite the pain he was feeling, Carson smiled slightly. Slowly opening his weary eyes open he saw the scientist kneeling in front of him. He could almost feel the fear and concern radiating off Rodney.

"I'm fine…"

"You're fine! Some Doctor you are. You obviously need medical help and you're saying you're fine. Are you sure you went to medical school? Maybe you hit your head a little harder than you thought. Here I thought you were a smart guy."

"You bloody daft scientist. You didn't let me finish what I was saying. I was going to say, I'm fine considering the trouble we're in right now."

"Oh, well… ah…"

If the situation wasn't so serious and if he didn't feel so guilty, Carson would have laughed at the reddening cheeks of the fumbling scientist. Instead he missed Rodney's facial expression as he was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't help but feel responsible.

"We have to do something."

The statement broke his train of thought.

"Um?" He asked, missing the point of the blunt statement.

"I said we need to go something. We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"I don't think there is much we can do besides waiting to be rescued."

"I guess but still…" He trailed off, unsure of what they should do. His eyes grew distant as he pondered their dilemma. A sharp intake of breath brought his attention back to the injured Doctor before him, who was trying to sit up but was failing miserably.

"Whoa," he reached out a hand to stop Carson's attempt, "I don't think that's a good idea. It might be better of you stayed where you are."

"I'm fine…"

"I thought we have been over this already! You are far from being fine…"

His little rant would have continued if Carson didn't cut him off.

"Will you just help me up? If I stay lying down much longer you won't have anyone to bother for a while."

"What?" Clearly missing what Carson was implying.

"Rodney, please!"

"Okay, okay."

As gently as possible Rodney helped his friend into a sitting position.

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"Are you a Doctor?"

"Yes!"

"A medical one I mean?"

"Well no…"

The silence crept back, leaving them to their own thoughts. Carson's mind was full of turmoil and guilt. It was his fault they were in this situation. Why hadn't he put up more of a fight when he was informed he was going off world? Or when Ahriman refused to let them go back for more supplies? If he had only been more persistent, now he was going to lose his life tomorrow as well as Rodney unless Sheppard miraculously found and rescued them in time. In the back of his mind he was being silly but he couldn't help himself. He felt the need to apologize to Rodney before their time ran out.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what?"

"For everything that has happened. For being captured, held against our wills, tortured, and soon to be executed if Sheppard doesn't find us soon. Pick one."

"Of all things you could be sorry for you're sorry because of something you had no control over?"

"But it's my fault."

"How on earth is it your fault? Did you ask to be kidnapped? Or even brought on this planet?"

"No but I still feel responsible."

"For god's sake Carson! It's not your fault."

"I've could have saved him. If I was only more persistent about taking Xerxes back to Atlantis we might not have an appointment for our deaths tomorrow."

"Maybe, but probably not. Not that I'm implying that you're not a great Doctor but there was not way Ahriman was ever going to listen to you."

"I still could have tried harder."

"And be beaten within an inch of your life or killed! No, there was nothing else you could have done."

"I…"

"Nothing Carson. There was nothing you could have done. Ahriman just wanted someone to blame."

"It's still my fault."

Rubbing his warily head Rodney groaned; the Doctor was too stubborn for his own good.

"Are you sentencing us to death tomorrow?"

"No but I as good as did."

"Carson will you stop it! It's not your fault. If you have to blame someone blame… oh I don't know just not yourself or me."

Despite the guilt he was feeling he gave Rodney a small smile. Before being able to reply they heard the bolt being pulled back on the door. Both held their breath as the door was opened. Expecting to see Ahriman or some of the guards again, they were shocked to see Delano in the doorway. Seeing their shocked looks he quickly shook his head to stop them from asking their questions. He hurriedly stepped into the room and shut the door. Looking at Rodney then Carson he whispered,

"I'm here to help you get back to the gate of the ancestors before you are both to be executed at dawn."

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Ahriman sat in his comfortable chair with his fingers laced together mindlessly twirling his thumbs facing the only window in the room. He watched as the sunlight faded completely behind the trees of the forest surrounding the village and the darkness of the night crept in. Smiling he thought of what was to unfold within hours. He was greatly looking forward to the event that was going to happen at dawn. Once the travelers had been executed all his problems with controlling his village would cease. Not that he was worrying much about not being able to control his fellow simpleminded villagers. Oh no, he had far more urgent and important things plaguing his mind at the moment. Such as what means should he use when following out the execution. So many different methods came to mind. Beheading, hanging, death by arrows, and drowning were just a few of the methods that crossed through his mind. Now which one should he chose from? Perhaps he should use the most violent? It would prove to everyone that he wasn't someone to be messed with. Beheading seemed like the best choice. No, maybe hanging was more appropriate. He couldn't decide. While trying to decide he continued to gaze out the window, seeing nothing besides the outline of a few trees as the darkness of the night fell over the village.

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The tension filled the air as both Doctors stared at Delano. The silence seemed to ring through the air. Delano shifted his feet; uncomfortable by the piercing stares he was receiving. What seemed like hours was merely a few seconds in reality, before either of them made any response.

"What?"

"Pardon?"

Rodney and Carson both exclaimed at the same time. Delano stepped closer towards them, whispering.

"I am going to help both of you escape your executions. Please we must hurry we mustn't waste anymore time. As I speak to the guards you must remain silent. Once we are free of them I will lead you through the woods back to the gate of the ancestors."

"So you expect us to trust you just like that? For all we know you could be leading us to our deaths!" Rodney exclaimed.

"Please there isn't much time."

"Rodney we have no choice," said Carson trying to calm Rodney down.

"Of course we have a choice."

"You said so yourself, "We have to do something." Well this is something. Personally I rather take my chances than sit around waiting for my death."

Rodney pondered the notion a few seconds before nodding his head reluctantly. Delano gave them a nervous smile and gestured for them to follow him. As gently as possible Rodney helped Carson up, becoming more concerned when his injured friend leaned heavily on him for a second.

"Carson?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy for a second."

"Carson you are far from," he started to say but stopped as he saw the Doctor's glare, "Fine. Don't say I didn't tell you so when you collapse."

Seeing both of them up Delano knocked on the door. Within seconds it opened revealing two intimidating guards.

"Let us pass. I must bring the travelers to the sacred room for final preparations and then to Ahriman for some more questions before they are to be executed."

The guards seemed reluctant to let their prisoners leave such as neither moved from their place in front of the door.

"If you do not believe me must I fetch Ahriman to tell you his orders himself? I do not believe he would be very understanding…"

Delano trailed off as he saw the guards' faces pale at the thought of being at the receiving end of Ahriman's wrath. He keeping his face neutral he watched the guards squirm a bit, inside his mind he was grinning madly. Mentioning Ahriman's wrath seemed to work every time. Quickly the guards moved aside and let them pass. No wasting another moment he lead Carson and Rodney passed the guards down the dark hallway.

After minutes of slowed walking down the dark hall, which seemed to have no end Rodney looked behind him and noticed the guards were finally out of sight. Their journey so far had been in silence besides the sound of their steady footsteps.

"Where…"

"Sh… do not speak! There is no need for conversation. Save your breath for your final meeting with Ahriman before dawn."

Though Delano's tone was harsh his eyes silently asked Rodney to play along.

"We had a bit further to go before we reach the sacred room."

He led them further down the hall and opened a door on their left. Ushering them in quickly he shut the door behind them. Entering the room Carson and Rodney were shocked to see Sandor standing patiently in the middle of the room holding a very small torch. The room itself looked like the room they had just recently left. Besides a wall hanging on one of the walls the room was bare. Before either of them could speak Sandor spoke.

"Please remain quiet until we are out of the village and deep within the woods. It is crucial that you remain silent. I will answer your questions when it is safe. Follow me."

He gestured with his hand for them to follow him. Leading them to one of the walls he pushed aside the wall hanging before pushing on the wall exposing a secret passage. They could feel a faint breeze coming out from the passageway; it was fairly dark and gave off a foreboding feeling.

"Delano led the way."

The teen nodded, he took the offered torch, and took a step into the dark tunnel without a second thought.

"Please we must hurry."

Both Doctors glanced at each other before entering and Sandor stepped in behind them, closing the door. Now enclosed in the passageway they could see it bore a similar resemblance to the hallway they were previous walking in. They didn't have much time to look around before Sandor nudged them forward.

The secret hallway smelled dusty and dark as they traveled in a single file line, the hall was too narrow for two people to walk side by side comfortably. It was silent but occasionally a few muffled voices could be heard through the walls. The passageway appeared to be endless. In a way it reminded Rodney of the energizer bunny; it just kept going and going and going. It was a good thing he wasn't claustrophobic, well not too claustrophobic. It seemed like they had been walking for hours when it was probably was only a few minutes. Suddenly Delano stopped and for once, during this mission, Rodney was able to avoid a collision. Delano slowly pressed his hands against the wall; he peeked out from the crack very cautiously. After a few seconds of watching he opened the door further and slipped out, before motioning for the others to follow.

Stepping out they found themselves behind some thick vegetation. The night air was cool against their cheeks and the full moon overhead illuminated the area with its soft gray light. The forest was a few yards away and seemed even more ominous at night than in the daylight. The trees were dark and foreboding with their long shadows seeming to reach towards them from behind their shelter. Delano quickly put out the torch he was carrying before he quietly crept out from their current shelter towards the forest. They watched in anticipation as he made his way out in the open. It seemed like all of them held their breath until the teen had reached the forest and hid behind a tree. Peeking out from behind his new shelter he motioned for someone to follow. Being nudged forward by Sandor, Rodney cautiously made his way toward Delano.

He felt his heart racing and the pounding of each beat in his head with every step he made. Reaching the cover of a tree near Delano he closed his eyes and let out an unsteady breath as he closed his eyes in relief. This nightmare was almost over, he couldn't bare to watch Carson make his way over to them so he kept his eyes closed. Trying to slow his frantic beating heart he strained to hear his friend make the dangerous trip across the open grounds. He let out another unsteady breath as he heard someone approaching and stop beside him. Opening his eyes he saw the frightened face of friend. They exchanged a small smile before being herded by Sandor further into the woods.

Walking swiftly into the night they blended into the shadows of the trees. Rodney and Carson stumbled frequency over the hidden tree roots while their eyes slowly adjusted to the moonlight. The branches of the trees around them looked like arms reaching out toward them. They could only hear the sounds of their footsteps and breathing, in the quiet forest. With each passing minute, they walked further away from danger and closer to safety.

After what seemed to have been at least thirty minutes Sandor stopped abruptly and turned to speak.

"We are a safe distance away from the village now. It would be a good time to rest for a bit."

Not wasting another moment Rodney wearily sat down, with his back against one of the many surrounding trees. The rest soon followed his example.

"Why are you helping us?" Rodney asked bluntly; wanting to know the answer to the question he had since Delano had led them out of their cell back in the village.

"We do not approve of Ahriman's beliefs and methods. There has been too much violence and with him in control there will most likely be more. I am truly sorry both of you had to suffer so much. I had hope Dr. Beckett would be able to save Xerxes."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." Carson remarked quietly, remorse all over his face.

"Carson." Rodney groaned, not wanting to continue the endless argument.

"No. If I had…"

"Carson will you stop it? There was nothing else you could have done! What's done is done."

"But…"

"You can't save everyone."

"I should be able to." He whispered barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

Rodney rubbed his temples in hopes of chasing away his growing headache. Finding it unsuccessful he tried another tactic, changing the conversation.

Turning to Sandor he asked, "Won't Ahriman realize you and Delano helped us escape?"

"Most likely but hopefully we will be far away when they notice our absence."

"How far is the gate from here?"

"It depends on how fast we travel. Going at this rate we should be able to reach the gate before night falls again perhaps late afternoon. We must pass through a cave, that is not known to many. Passing through the cave should save us an hour or two."

"What will happen to both of you once we've gone?" Carson asked, breaking his silence.

Delano and Sandor exchanged a look before Sandor answered.

"We hope to join the other village but if we are unable to we will stay at the cave until we are able to find a safer place to live."

"How safe exactly is this cave of yours?" Rodney was growing concerned about the safety of the cave.

"There are only four of us that know of it that I am aware of and only those blessed with the gift of the ancestors can open it."

"Gift of the ancestors?" Despite the guilt Carson was feeling at the moment, the researcher in him was becoming more and more interested.

"Yes, with a simple touch of our palms the entrance of the cave opens and shuts."

"Sounds like the ancient gene." Rodney said looking at Carson.

"Ancient gene?" Delano asked.

"Aye. If I am correct it's what we've named what you know as the gift of the ancestors."

"Oh but why call it the ancient gene? What is a gene?"

"As much as I am enjoying this conversation we must continue on if we are to reach the gate of the ancestors at this pace before we are found to be missing." Sandor said interrupting the confused teen.

Warily getting back on their feet they followed Sandor deeper into the forest and further away from the village, hoping to reach their destination before they were found.


	12. Chapter 12

A.N. Well here's the latest chapter. I've kind of lost contact with my beta so this chapter, like the previous ones, has only been corrected by myself. Again hopefully the errors are to a minimum. This chapter was originally planned to be longer but it ended up being way too long so I split it up and made it into two chapters. The good news is because of that the next chapter should be completed within a week. :D The end should be near… Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed my story so far. Your feedback makes my day! To my anonymous reviewer out there: I hope this chapter came quick enough for you. This time it was only around 18 days since the last chapter… haha I actually counted this time… Thanks for your review.

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Chapter 12

Ahriman leaned against the window watching the sun rise slowly into the morning sky, the night fading in the light. He smirked; the time had come for the so-called travelers to reach their end. Not willing to waste another second he strolled over to the door and pulled it open.

"Bring the travelers to the square for their punishment and arise the rest of the villagers for the display at once!" He barked to one of the guards outside the door.

The guard scampered away causing Ahriman to grin in pleasure. It felt good to be in control of simpleminded people. Closing the door again, he walked over to the table in the center of the room. Picking up the knife laying on the table he rubbed his thumb over the blade. He was going to enjoy slitting the throats of the foolish travelers and watching them suffer slowly. Securing the blade on his belt, he made his way over to the door and walked out of the room. Walking briskly, he made his journey through the dark hallway towards the square outside. With in a few moments he was outside, taking in a breath of the sweet morning air. The ground made crunching noises as he walking toward the square in the center of the village. A few birds were chirping in the nearby forest. He walked by the various buildings on short walk to his destination. Reaching the square, he paused to gaze at the sight around him with his hand behind his back. The sun's soft rising rays fell gracefully on the buildings surrounding him creating shadows. Within minutes his fellow villagers would be awakening and the executions would take place. Hearing hurried footsteps behind him he turned, confused. Why would there be only one set of footsteps when the guards should be bringing the two travelers.

"My lord, I fear there is a serious problem."

Ahriman almost saw red as he stared at the pathetic, quivering guard before him.

"Yes!"

"Ah… the… the…"

"Spit it out."

"The prisoners have escaped, my Lord."

"WHAT! HOW?"

"They were last seen with Delano. It is believed he helped the prisoners escaped and Sandor has not been seen since late last night."

Ahriman opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly. He felt his anger growing at his plan being delayed. How could two of his most trusted villagers betray him? They were going to ruin his brilliant plans. He had to stop them. There was no way he was going to let them ruin his plan. No way. Pacing angrily and trying to come up with a new plan to fix the current situation he didn't notice the young guard watching him nervously, worried about the pain that would be inflicted on him for relaying the unfortunate news. How was he going to fix the problem and get back to his plan? He had to find the travelers but they could be anywhere now. Where would they go? Suddenly it dawned to him, the gate of the ancestors. They would most likely be heading towards the gate to return to their planet before their demise. Quickly stopping his pace without even noticing he barked at the now shaking guard.

"Send for the strongest warriors and tell them to met me at the edge of the forest in a two minutes time or they will bare the consequences later."

"Yes my lord." The guard squeaked before he ran off.

Soon everything would be back to his plan. He would not let two traitors ruin his perfect plan. Once he had his hands on those traitors he would deal with them accordingly, swiftly and painfully.

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John was coming to the end of his patience. They had been wandering in the forest for a day now and they still haven't found Rodney or Carson. He glanced at the two siblings with annoyance; they were arguing again about what direction they should be traveling in. He could barely restrain himself from banging his head against the nearest tree and yelling in frustration. They were wasting time! Rodney and Carson had been missing for almost three days now, it didn't seem like they were any closer to finding them than they were when the two Doctors first went missing. John looked at his remaining members of his team and the other team sent for backup in the early morning's light, they all looked exhausted. He didn't know how much more he could take before he lost it.

"We are sorry for the delay but we had a slight disagreement. The direction of the other village should be in this direction." Uma said looking sincerely as she pointing to her right. Beside her Talos looked a little put down, showing he had lost their argument.

"By all means lead the way." John replied waving his arm slightly.

Uma nodded and hurriedly lead them once more through the forest. Aiden walked next to John and quietly whispered to him.

"Sir, do you think we'll find the other village this time?"

"We better."

Aiden looked at his commanding officer's face and noticed it was hard with annoyance and bordering line of anger. He hoped for Uma and Talos' sake they were heading in the right direction. It wasn't pleasant to have Sheppard pissed off at you.

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They had been walking for hours through the seeming endless forest back to the stargate. The sun had risen and was overhead, its soft light falling through the branches of the trees. Carson wished they could afford another break but seeing how many they had taken already it wouldn't be wise. He never wanted to go on another mission off-world, well he knew that wasn't really possible but it would be nice to pretend it was. Why did most missions become so complicated? He definitely needed to stop making house calls.

"So are we almost there yet?"

Carson turned to an exasperated looking Rodney. He bit back a snicker; trust Rodney to ask a question like that again. He had only asked the question five times since they left the other village.

"Just a little bit further," answered Sandor. He didn't even turn around to look at the scientist when he answered him.

"Sure," glancing at his watch he added, "it's funny that's what you said twenty minutes ago and we're still not at the stargate!"

"Stargate?" questioned Delano; he looked at Rodney confused by the term.

"It's what we call the gate of the ancestors lad." Carson quickly explained before Rodney could make some snide remark.

"Oh."

"Do you actually know where you're leading us because it doesn't seem like it? You can't even tell me how much further it is." Rodney questioned Sandor again.

Carson and Delano exchanged looks of annoyance at hearing the start of the continuing argument between Rodney and Sandor start again.

"Yes. Like I said earlier it is only a little bit further."

"How sure are you? I mean it doesn't…"

Ignoring what Rodney was saying Carson turned to the silent teen beside him.

"So it must have been hard growing up while at war with another village."

Delano shrugged, "I guess. The war has been going on for many generations, not many remember what it was like to be at peace. I know many people are tired of this conflict but are too afraid to speak out. So many have lost their lives."

"Are you leaving behind any one by helping us?"

"Sandor is all that I have, he has looked after me for many years. I do not remember my family very well. They were all killed many years ago when the conflict between the two villages were most deadly."

"I'm sorry."

Delano gave him a small smile in thanks before saying, "It has been many years and I was quite young at the time. Hopefully this war will be over soon."

"Thank you again for finding the courage to help us. It means a lot to the both of us, even though Rodney's having a hard time of showing it."

The teen grinned.

"No problem. I'm just sorry both of you had to suffer under Ahriman's hand."

"It's fine lad. There was nothing you could have done to prevented it."

They exchanged a smile before lapsing into silence again. Carson sighed seeing his friend and Sandor still arguing. It seemed like Rodney was always arguing with someone.

"What is your world like?"

Carson glanced at the teen and smiled.

"Rodney and I aren't really heading back to our home world. We've been living on another world for the past year but it's lovely. Calm and peaceful when certain scientists aren't touching or experimenting with something they shouldn't be."

"Does that happen often? Scientists breaking the peace?"

He chuckled a bit before responding.

"Unfortunately. Rodney always seems to be causing some type of havoc where ever he goes."

"It must be nice not having to worry about a war. I wish this conflict would end."

"Aye. Perhaps it will end soon?"

"One would hope but now with Ahriman as the new chief it seems unlikely. He appears to be content with making there be more bleed shed."

"Couldn't you leave through the stargate?"

"Yes but Sandor is determined to stay and help the villages move towards peace. Personally, there is nothing left for me here. Everyone I knew or cared for is long gone save Sandor."

"Maybe…"

He stopped in mid sentence when he heard something wiz by his head all of a sudden. Startled he jumped slightly and saw an arrow imbedded in a tree nearby. It brought back eerie memories of the first time he had tried making it back to the stargate on this planet. Shocked at seeing an arrow that barely missed him, he could only stare at it. He didn't even notice the bickering between Rodney and Sandor stop immediately as a few more arrows came shooting pass them.

"RUN!" Sandor shouted.

Snapping out of his dazed, Carson ran after Sandor and Rodney with Delano beside him. Again they were weaving in and out of the trees while a few arrows here and there would find themselves in a tree next to them. Carson felt his heart beating franticly; he didn't want to get captured again. He had a feeling if he met with Ahriman again it was going to be a very painful encounter. After a few minutes of running he noticed Delano and Rodney were somehow ahead of Sandor and himself. He felt his ribs and shoulder throbbing as he ran. He didn't think he could go on much further. Slowing down, he leaned heavily against a tree trunk. His breaths coming out in gasps.

"Come, now is not the time to rest."

Sandor pulled on Carson's sleeve trying to get the tired Doctor running again. Out of breath, Carson could only shake his head no. Looking pass Sandor he could see Rodney and Delano fade off in the distance, both unaware they had lost two members of their escape party.

"We cannot stop. It is not safe. This is…"

Stopping in mid sentence Sandor pushed Carson to the side. Being as tired and sore as he was, Carson fell to the ground jarring his injured shoulder again. He hissed in pain on the ground, realizing it wasn't wise to be lying on the ground while angry villagers were shooting arrows at you he got to his feet painfully. Feeling annoyed at being pushed, he glanced to his side at Sandor. What was the purpose of pushing him? His annoyance vanished within a second when he saw Sandor lying on the ground with an arrow through his chest. Turning into his Doctor mood without another thought, Carson kneeled beside the injured man ignoring the pain his own injuries were giving him.

"Leave me. You must get to the gate."

"I can't do that," he remarked while shaking his head and peered closer at the wound.

"Your well-being is more important than my life. Please you must leave me."

"I'm not leaving you. There's really nothing I can do for you right now but if we can get to the stargate I will be able to help you once we're off your world."

"Leave me. I will only slow you down."

"I am not leaving you here to die!"

"Very well," Sandor said reluctantly, knowing now wasn't the time or place to argue with the Doctor.

He allowed Carson to help him up but as they were about to make their way after Rodney and Delano the sounds of many footsteps approached them. Before they could hide in the shelter of one of the trees surrounding them some of the branches of the trees before them moved. Both were frozen in place with fear. To their horror they saw Ahriman along with a few villagers emerge from behind the trees.


	13. Chapter 13

A.N. Here's the latest chapter! This has to be the fastest update I've had for this story, I think it's been only six days since chapter 12… Like the previous chapters this chapter has only been edited by myself. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, those who reviewed the last chapter. I hope all of you like this newest chapter. I'm sorry to say that the next chapter won't be posted any time soon. Finals are coming up and I'm having issues with completing it. Any suggestions are welcomed, though I might not use them. To my anonymous reviewer: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I couldn't help myself. Carson had to be captured again… Thanks for your review.

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Chapter 13

Rodney felt his heart beating against his ribcage and his breaths coming out in pants. He hated running, he had never been much of a runner. It didn't help that he was a little out of shape. Only a little, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. A painful stitch in his side was making its presence known. As much as he wanted to stop he knew he couldn't if he wanted to live. Why was he always in situations like this? He fell a bit forward, tripping on another hidden tree root. Damn tree roots. At least Sheppard wasn't there to laugh at him. Where was he any ways? Now would be a good time to be found. He was beginning to feel sick to his stomach running through the forest following Delano. Barely biting back the sudden urge to puke he pushed himself to continue running. His heart was beating franticly against his ribcage and his breaths were coming out in short pants. Why did the teen have to be so fast? He figured he must be a few feet behind the young teen. Rodney frowned a bit, noticing the distance between them was becoming more pronounced, he must be slowing down. Suddenly noticing the absence of someone running behind him, he quickly looked. No one was there. He stopped suddenly, not even realizing he had. All he would think of was where was Carson? He had heard his friend behind him a few minutes ago. Though Carson wasn't much of a runner either, Rodney didn't think he was that much faster. What happened to him and Sandor? He felt a hard pull on his jacket sleeve and saw Delano beside him. Rodney pushed back his surprise at seeing the teen next to him, when only a few moments ago the teen had been a good distance ahead of him.

"Come we mustn't stop until we reach the cave. It is not safe to stop here. Please we must continue on."

"No. Wait! We have to go back."

Seeing the disbelief on the teen's face he added quickly, "Carson's back there. I'm not leaving him!"

Delano frowned pondering what to do. There wasn't much time and if they went back they would most likely be captured. As much as he didn't want to leave the Carson or Sandor behind, he couldn't break his work with Sandor. He and Sandor had agreed, before leaving the village, to protect one of the travelers each. If one was to fall behind the other was to make sure the other traveler made it back to the gate of the ancestors or to safety. Reluctantly he said, "We can not. It is my duty to get you to safety. Sandor will protect Carson with his life. We must continue onward."

He wanted nothing more than to help the friendly doctor but there was nothing he could do without breaking his word.

"I'm not going to leave him!"

"I'm sorry but there is no choice."

"Of course there is. Now move out of my way. I'm not going to leave my friend to the mercy of your crazy leader."

"There is not time. It would be foolish to go back. Come we must hurry." Delano pulled on Rodney's jacket sleeve again, desperately trying to prevent the scientist from going back. He had to get the traveler to safety; once Rodney was safe he could go back for Carson and Sandor.

"Let go!"

"We can't…" The teen stopped and his face quickly changed from annoyed to fearful.

"What?"

"Shhhh!"

Curious to why the teen wanted him quiet, Rodney complied. He strained his ears and looked around, hoping to find what was terrifying the teen so much.

"Did you hear something?"

"Hear what?"

They were quiet as they tried to hear what Delano had heard, suddenly there was a rustling to their left.  
"That."

Rodney felt his breath hitch as he heard the sounds getting closer.

"Quick we must hide."

Delano pulled Rodney away from the sound. They quickly hid beneath the covering of one of the many trees, hoping to escape whatever was approaching. Hiding themselves beneath the thick tree branches their sight was obscured. Rodney held his breath as he heard the sound getting closer. _Please go past_ he thought. His breaths sounded loud to his ears, whatever was approaching was going to find them. He didn't want to die here or at all. Why were most of his missions offworld disastrous? Unable to stop himself, he gasped when he saw something coming towards them. They were going to be found. He looked at Delano desperately for some plan of escape but the teen seemed too scared to do anything but bite his lip in fear. Realizing there was no plan, he looked behind him in hope of a clear pathway for their escape. To his horror he saw another shadow approaching and sounds coming closer on their sides. They were surrounded with no way out. He couldn't help but think they were screwed seeing the branches, covering them, being moved. The shadow coming closer and closer before the branches were moved completely aside.

---------------------------------------

John glared at the back of Talos' head, thinking of the many different ways he could kill the insufferable man and make it look like an accident. Not that he was going to actually follow through with any of them but it helped pass time and keep his mind off the missing members of his team for a while. Okay maybe the man wasn't that insufferable but at the moment John was far from happy and blame for that laid partly on Talos' shoulders. Talos had led them in circles around the forest for hours before Uma had stepped in and took over. John shuttered at the thought of Rodney and Carson suffering under an immense amount of torture because of those lost hours. They had better be heading in the right direction this time or he was going to start thinking of ways to dispose of Uma.

"Major Sheppard I believe we are traveling in the right direction of the other village this time," the women in question spoke.

"You believe?"

"Ah… yes. It should be in this direction…"

They all frozen when they heard some rustling coming towards them, sounding like someone or thing running. Wordlessly they moved behind the trees for cover, waiting to see who was coming. Instead of coming face to face with anyone, the noise stopped and the distant sound of two voices could be heard. John felt his heart skip a beat, one of the voices sounded like one of the missing members of his team. Could one of them or even both be somewhere in the forest before them? Quickly motioning to his team they headed towards the voices, hoping to get close before being spotted. John grimaced when he heard the voices cease, so much for the element of surprise. Moving forward he looked around for the source of the noise hoping it was who he thought it was. Seeing some of the lower branches of one of the trees move in front of him, he crept towards it with Teyla behind him. Twirling his finger around in the air in a circular motion, he silently told everyone to surround the tree. He kept his gun raised in case it wasn't someone friendly or that they knew. Pushing aside the branches he was relieved and slightly worried at the sight before him. Crouching under the tree was a battered looking Rodney with an unknown teen next to him. John could only stare at them, his tongue felt like a deadweight in his mouth.

"Sheppard!"

Without skipping a beat this time he answered.

"That would be me."

"Oh god you have no idea how happy I am to see you. Would you mind aiming that at someone else?" Rodney gestured to the gun still pointed at him. Not waiting for an answer he made his way out from under the tree. Giving Teyla a smile in thanks when she offered him her hand and helped him up. Now standing before John he asked, "What told you so long?"

"Well you know its kind of hard to find someone when you don't know where they have been taken. The other village wasn't too set on helping either. So who's your new friend here?"

"Him?" Rodney pointed Delano.

John only gave him a look to say who else.

"Oh right. Um just some kid from the village well one of them, the violent one. Unless the other one is also violent… He's name is Deanlow."

"It's Delano." The kid, rather the teen in question remarked.

"That's what I said!"

"It probably would be best if you left it at that. He's horrible at names," John informed Delano.

"I am not!"

"McKay this isn't the time to argue about this, if you want to maybe later. Is Beckett hiding somewhere near by?"

He looked around, trying to find the missing physician.

"You didn't find him?"

"If I did, so you think I would be asking?"

Ignoring the question, Rodney hurried past John only to be grabbed by his arm by the Major.

"Let me go! We have to go back. Ahriman is after us or some of his men are and Carson is back there. He could be hurt or captured or…"

"Where?" asked John urgently.

He didn't like where Rodney was going with this. The sounds of someone crying out echoed through the forest before the scientist could answer. They all froze and stared toward the sound of the cry in horror.

"Which way is Beckett?" dreading the answer.

Unable to word his response Rodney pointed toward the direction of the cry. John turned quickly to his team issued out orders.

"Goodrich stay with Uma, Talos, and uh… Delano. You too Rodney. Everyone else with me."

"Yes sir." The Private nodded his head.

He moved towards the direction of where the cry came from and saw Rodney start to follow, from the corner of his eye. Why couldn't the scientist listen?

"No Rodney stay here." Turning to Goodrich he ordered, "Make sure he stays here. Use force if necessary."

Leaving no room for discussion he lead the rest of his team towards the missing doctor. Choosing to ignore Rodney's protests he hurried away. The only thing on his mind was whether or not Carson was okay and what had happened.

-------------------------------------------

"Isn't this touching? A healer protecting a soldier." Ahriman paused a second before he yelled to his men gesturing towards Carson, "Seize him."

They roughly pulled Carson away from Sandor causing the doctor to gasp in pain and Sandor to fall to the ground painfully. Sandor's eyes widen in fear at seeing Ahriman approach him.

"To think of all the times I had trusted you only to be betrayed for some feeble travelers. These travelers murdered our great leader! How could you help them? You have betrayed our village!" Ahriman was now standing before Sandor.

"You mean innocent travelers. You and I both know they had nothing to do with Xerxes' death. As for betraying the village, you are guiltier than I, there was talk of peace a few days ago and now you plan to break that peace that was worked hard for!"

"How dare you spread these lies! You will regret betraying me and your village."

"My only regret is following your deceptive ways for as long as I did. You are nothing compared to Xerxes. He was a great leader and you are nothing but a murderer!"

"That is enough! I was going to wait until we got back to the village to set out your punishment but it cannot wait any longer! Say goodbye!"

Sandor looked at Ahriman with confusion. He didn't even have a chance to comprehend those words as Ahriman swiftly pulled out his knife and slit the wounded man's throat.

"Nooooo…" Carson cried out and tried to free himself to reach the dying man. Unable to free himself, he watched with anguish as Sandor bleed, choking on his own blood before drawing his last breaths. Carson felt his heart breaking seeing Sandor bleed to death and being unable to help him.

"How could you? You killed a defenseless man!"

He stared at Ahriman with accusing eyes. There was barely time for him to blink before Ahriman was standing in front of him. He bit back a groan when Ahriman grabbed his injured shoulder.

"So where are the others?"

Carson wanted to sigh in relief but forced himself to look shocked at the news. If he could somehow buy Rodney and Delano some more time, perhaps they could still make it to the stargate safely.

"What do you mean?"

"You perfectly know what I mean! Tell me now!"

"I'm sorry I don't. Would you mind explaining what you are asking a wee bit clearer?"

"Stop avoiding the question! Now answer me!"

"I don't believe I do. I have a slight headache and having some trouble focusing. Could you…"

Whatever else he was going to say was cut off when Ahriman pushed him backward causing him to fall against a nearby tree trunk on his already injured shoulder. He bit his lip and shut his eyes in pain. Groaning he stood up straight and looked Ahriman in the eye.

"Tell me where your assistant is NOW!"

"Oh my assistant. Why didn't you say so in the first place? Ah… wait which one are you talking about?"

He willed himself not to move when Ahriman stepped closer towards him. Carson didn't like the glint in Ahriman's eyes.

"Do you like pain? Answer my question or you will have more!"

"Not particularly. I need a name though. I don't know who you're talking about."

"I am going to ask you once more before I resort to some painful methods."

Carson swallowed nervously at the thought before he answered seriously this time.

"I have no idea."

"What do you mean you do not know?"

"Well you see I'm horrid with directions and so is Rodney though he'll most likely deny it. I don't know where we were going. I'm sorry."

Ahriman growled and narrowed his eyes, his hands straying towards his knife on his belt.

"I really don't know. I would tell you if I knew." Carson prayed for once that Ahriman would believe his lie. He was surprised when Ahriman seemed to ponder his statement. His relief was only short lived when Ahriman's facial expression changed. Thinking he was going to be met with violence again he was surprised when Ahriman spoke with a calculating look on his face.

"If you won't answer that question perhaps you will answer this one. Why did you murder Xerxes?"

Carson looked at his capturer, confused with the question. Didn't he already answer the question before? He paused before answering.

"Like I said before I didn't, neither did Rodney."

"If you are innocent then why are you both fleeing before your punishment?"

"You're going to kill us!"

"Perhaps but by fleeing you both appear to be guilty."

"We just don't huge wish to be dying anytime soon."

"I believe you are running because you do not want to face the punishment for your crime."

"Are you insane? How many times must we tell you we didn't have any wish to kill him! You have as much guilt as we do. If you had let me get more supplies maybe things would have ended differently."

Carson bit his tongue and felt like hitting himself on the head, when he saw Ahriman's face-harden. He might have gone a little bit too far that time. Before he could say anything else he felt Ahriman's hands wrap around his exposed neck and his back slamming into the tree trunk again. He tried to free himself with his hands, only to wince as he moved his injured shoulder.

"I am going to ask you again. Why did you murder Xerxes?"

"I've already told you."

"You have only spoken your lies to me. First you say you were innocent then confess and now you're denying again. I want the truth."

"I didn't murder…"

"I want the truth! Not your lies. Why must you be so difficult? Is it so hard to…"

The rest of Ahriman's rant became muffled to Carson, he was starting to feel light headed and having problems focusing. It was getting hard for him to breath; the pressure against his throat was slowly pushing harder and harder.

"Please…stop…I…"

"Please what? Stop this? I don't think so. No you must be punished for the crime you have committed."

"I…didn't…kill…anyone." He gasp out, now starting to see spots.

"Yes you did! Stop lying to me."

"I…" He chocked as the hands against his throat squeezed even harder down.

"I have had enough of your lies. I was going to wait to punish you later but your defiance must be dealt with immediately! I am afraid for you that today would be your last day." He paused before leaning in closer and whispered to the frightened doctor before him so that he was the only one that could hear, "I know you are innocent but I can not have you living. It would ruin my plans."

The hands then suddenly squeezed harder against his throat and effectively cut off the rest of his air. Carson felt his eyes widen in fear and shock. He tried to free himself from the death grip Ahriman had on him but found it impossible with only one arm. Dying wasn't something he had planned on doing anytime soon. He felt his chest start to hurt as his supply of oxygen ran out and heart rate speed up. Oh, he really didn't want to die. He was starting to feel even more light headed and his vision was getting fuzzy. It seemed like this was the end of the road for him, he just hoped that at least Rodney and Delano were able to get away. He glanced at the surrounding area for what he knew was going to be the last time, it was ironic how peaceful the forest surrounding them looked as he spent his last few moments living. The sight before him blurred and his eyes began to close. He knew he was fading away but was powerless to stop it. Just as he was falling into the darkness he thought he heard a gunshot and Ahriman release his deadly hold. He figured he must have been imagining it but he thought nothing more of it as he lost consciousness and slide to the forest floor lifelessly.


	14. Chapter 14

A.N. Sorry for the long delay, I had some computer problems Friday night which prevented me from posting then... but hopefully the fact that this chapter is really long makes up for the delay... I quickly want to thank all my reviewers and a special thank you to gabumon for helping me determine the fate of one of the characters (Delano). Like the previous chapters I've been the only one to edit it… once again sorry for any mistakes…Without further delay here's chapter 14, the rest of my A.N is at the end of the chapter (which includes the rest of my thank yous).

Chapter 14

John slipped past some trees and pushed aside the occasional branch as he made his way towards the yell he had heard earlier. At hearing an angry raised voice, he pushed onward, faster with the rest of his team following. Though John couldn't make out all the words, he didn't like the sound of it. Approaching and seeing the source of the noise up ahead, he slowed down. Quickly he signaled for the team to surround the people in front of them and to wait for his signal before firing. He stealthily moved forward with Teyla at his side. He could hear the words now and winced at the content of them. Carefully he pushed aside the branches of a tree and inched closer. He could now clearly see some men standing around but what froze at seeing Carson being strangled by some unknown villager. Without wasting another moment he fired his gun, hitting the villager. Both men, Carson and his assailant, sank to the forest floor bonelessly. Turning his attention towards the other villagers he saw the confusion and fear on their faces before they fled. Not seeing any immediate danger in the fleeing people he directed his concern to the final missing member of his team, he was vaguely aware of his team securing the area. Running over to the crumbled form of the Scottish doctor he kneeled beside him, completely ignoring the unfamiliar villager next to his friend. He paled at seeing the doctor's closed eyes, almost blue tinted lips, and battered form. With a shaking hand, he felt his friend's neck for a pulse. John felt his heart stop when he couldn't find one.

"Major?"

He couldn't answer, he checked for a pulse again. He must have tried the wrong spot, there had to be a pulse. There had to be one but in his second attempt he still couldn't find a pulse.

"Major Sheppard?"

He tore his eyes away from Carson's still body and looked up at Teyla, unable to deny the truth any longer now.

"He doesn't have a pulse."

-----------

Rodney paced around restlessly; frustrated that John hadn't allowed him to follow. Carson was his friend too. Who gave Sheppard the right to order him around? If Rodney had been thinking logically he would have realized John was trying to protect him from becoming injured further, but he was too upset to realize that. He wanted to know if Carson was alright. Glancing at the private with distaste, he tried to think of a plan to slip past his watchful guard. He wasn't about to let some soldier stop him. He wasn't some child that needed protecting. Rodney sudden froze at the sound gunshots fired in the direction John had just gone in. Not thinking about his own safety he ran towards the fighting, slipping past the private and ignoring the protests being shouted at him. He had to know what was happening no matter what the costs.

The trees were a blur as he ran past them towards his destination. The surrounding sounds fell deaf upon his ears; he could only hear the frantic beat of his heart against his ribcage and the shallowness of his breath. He felt like he could collapse at any moment but pushed himself onwards. He had to know Carson was alright. He just had to know. Stumbling past a group of trees, he finally caught up with John but froze at the sight before him. It was like one of his worst nightmares was staring at him. All he could do was stare at Teyla and John, who looked like they were in the process of performing CPR on Carson. Rodney felt detached from his body and that scene before him was only a dream. This couldn't be happening. Carson was suppose to be alright, John had finally found them. He couldn't be dead. Still feeling the sensation of being out of his body he stumbled towards his friends. He didn't notice Delano arrive beside him. Or see the horror in the young teen's eyes at the scene before them and at noticing the bloody body of Sandor. Rodney wasn't even aware of Delano running towards Sandor's body and kneeling before it.

-------

They carefully laid Carson on his back. Teyla wordlessly pinched the still doctor's nose and breathed two breathes into the doctor's mouth. John then pressed down on Carson's chest, counting each time out loud under his breath. After reaching thirty he stopped and Teyla blew two more breaths into Carson unresponsive body. They continued the process for a few minutes, unaware of the people around them solely focused on the task before them. Neither of them noticed Rodney showing up with the other villagers and Goodrich. Finally after a tense three minutes to their relief as well as the others, Carson suddenly drew in a sharp breath and started coughing. Groaning he tried to curl onto his uninjured side. John and Teyla's hands gently stopped him from doing so and injuring himself further.

"Easy there Carson." John said.

Hearing John's voice, Carson tried to open his eyes. After several attempts he was successful. Opening his heavy eyelids he met John and Teyla's glaze. He blinked several times, clearing his vision. He tried to say something but it only came out muddled and irritated his sore throat, he grimaced at the pain it gave him.

"It's alright Doctor Beckett. You are safe now. We are here to take you home," Teyla told him patting his arm reassuringly.

"You had us worried there for a second."

Carson couldn't help but give John a confused expression. He couldn't remember doing anything recently to have anyone worry or John and Teyla showing up. The last thing he remembered was Ahriman's deadly grip on his throat. Suddenly remembering the crazed villager his looked around franticly. Seeing Carson's panicked look John glanced to his right to look at the villager he had shot and saw Aiden by the still body. The Lieutenant caught his eye and shook his head, indicating that the villager was dead.

"Don't worry the villager has been taken care of."

Carson relaxed visibly but looked surprised at a sudden shout nearby and the sound of someone hurrying over.

"Oh thank god! Don't ever do that again!"

The doctor soon saw scientist who had shouted and finally come out of his state of stock. Carson gave his friend a weak smile, he was glad to see he was alright. He then tried to sit up to see who else was there but felt Rodney's hand preventing him from doing so. He looked at him with annoyance.

"Rodney…" He tried saying and had to wince at the pain and how weak his voice sounded.

"Oh don't even think about it. And don't say you're fine! We've been over this before. You're far from fine…"

John grinned and looked at Teyla, seeing her grinning as well. They were at it again, arguing over something. The rest of the Rodney's rant was lost to him as his grin disappeared and he just noticed how vulnerable they were in the forest. He quickly turned to Carson, interrupting Rodney.

"Do you think you walk?"

Carson opened his mouth to answer but had second thoughts and instead speaking he simply nodded.

"What do you mean can he walk? Of course he can't he was just dead a few minutes ago…"

"Rodney!"

John glared at the scientist. This wasn't time to start another argument; they needed to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible. Even though what seemed to be the leader of the group of other villagers was dead it wasn't safe for them to remain in the area. They needed to get back to the stargate before the other villagers decided to come back with more force plus they needed to get the recently found members of the team medical treatment. Rodney shut his mouth and shot John a glare in return, who simply ignored it. Instead John gestured to some of the members of the rescue team to come help Carson. Edwin and Reynolds hurried over and helped the injured doctor up. Turning to his left he saw Uma and Talos kneeling by what appeared to be Sandor's body with the teen nearby. John walked toward Uma and Talos. A few feet away from them, he caught their attention.

"We should go before they come back."

"It would be against our ways to leave Sandor's body without a blessing. We can not leave now," exclaimed Uma.

"There isn't time. They could come back at any minute. Can't we carry his body with us and leave now?"

"No! You do not understand. We must bless his body now then perform the burial."

John bit back a yell and clenched his fist. How could she not understand danger of what she was proposing? Who knew how long the blessing and the actual burial might take. He needed to get Carson and Rodney back to Atlantis before anything else happened, he had just found them and wasn't about to risk their safety. Giving them a quick glance he saw with alarm that they looked exhausted and ready to drop at any given moment. He turned his attention back towards the distraught women, not noticing Delano moving towards him slowly.

"As I said there isn't time! Look can't we just get somewhere safe first and bring his body with us then perform whatever blessing you need to do?"

She looked at him, repulsed by the suggestion.

"No! We must perform the blessing immediately or his spirit will wander the world forever. We can't move his body!"

"Look I'm not about to risk the lives of my team to wait for you to do some blessing. Those villagers could be coming back this way. We can't just stand here. We have to go!"

"I know you do follow our beliefs but please to not ask of me to forsake mine. If you feel you must go then do so. I pray for you and team that the ancestors are forgiving."

"Fine. The gate should be in that direction?" He asked pointing in the direction they came in.

"It is."

"Okay, thanks for your help."

He turned to address his team and almost bumped into Delano. Slightly annoyed that the teen was so close to him he stepped to the side to move around the teen.

"Wait please before you go hear me out. If you will allow it, I would be willing to show you the way to the gate of the ancestors."

John raised an eyebrow, surprised by the offer. Before he was able to reply an angry voice was heard behind him.

"How could you leave Sandor's body as it is? Surely it is within your own village customs to bless one's body after they have passed on to the afterlife."

Turning around John saw Uma's faced filled with anger.

"It is one of our customs but I believe he would wish the safe return of the travelers to the gate of the ancestors before the final preparations of his body were made. I made a promise to him that I would get Dr. Beckett and McKay back to the gate safely no matter the consequences. I will not break that promise." Delano calmly responded, not moved by Uma's anger.

"Fine do what you must but I will not accompany you. You are forsaking your beliefs for some travelers. The ancestors would be most displeased. You are risking your life by angering them."

"I am sorry you feel that way but I will fulfill my promise." He turned toward Talos silently asking him if he would accompany them.

"I shall stay with my sister and help her."

Nodding sadly the teen turned towards John.

"We should leave now."

"After you."

Delano nodded and quickly led them away, towards safety.

------------

After a few hours of a hurried travel through the forest and cave as fast as they could considering the condition of the recently found doctors they found themselves back in front of the stargate. Their journey would had been shorter had it not been for the ten minute delay caused by an overly eager scientist at the cave, which almost resulted in the forcible removal of the scientist by John. Finally at the gate, John quickly ordered for the gate to be dialed. He glanced at the two doctors, concerned at how they were fairing. That concern was hardly put to ease at seeing the battered and warily forms of his friends. Soon they would be back on Atlantis and given the care they sorely needed. He heard the sound of the gate opening and a gasp from their guide beside him. Turning to look at the teen he couldn't help but grin at the teen's expression. Delano's face seemed to be lit up in a combination of fascination and longing.

"First time seeing the gate open?"

Still looking at the open gate Delano answered, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.

"It is. I had only heard tales from Sandor and others from my village. It is even better than they described it."

John nodded. Tapping on his headset he called Atlantis' gate room.

"This is Major Sheppard. Requesting permission to return through the stargate."

"Major Sheppard, it's good to hear your voice again. I take it doctors Beckett and McKay have been found? Not too many difficulties?" He heard Elizabeth's voice through his ear set.

"Yup. They're a bit battered but seem to be hanging in there. A medical team is needed though. There were a few issues earlier but none at the moment."

"A medical team is one its way to the gate room."

"I'm sending Beckett and McKay through."

"Okay, I'll see you shortly."

"Okay, Sheppard out."

John gestured for Carson and Rodney to go through the gate. The injured doctors were helped up the steps and soon disappeared through the gate. Signaling for the rest of the team to follow, they too walked through the blue horizon leaving John, Teyla, and Delano. John turned and saw that the teen was still looking at the gate mesmerized by it. He debated with himself whether or not he should ask the question on his mind, he knew Elizabeth wouldn't be too pleased at not being asked first but they did owe the teen for helping them. Deciding she wouldn't be too terribly upset he asked the question.

"How would you like coming back with us?"

"Through the gate and back to your world? Truly?"

John nodded.

"I…" Delano bit his lip, pondering the question. As much as he wanted to leave this world, he didn't want to impose on these friendly travelers. Seeing John's sincere face, Delano slowly nodded.

"I would be very honored to accompany you."

"Glad to hear it."

John grinned and saw Teyla smiling approvingly.

"Well let's go."

They walked up the steps towards the blue horizon shining before them but the teen paused at the top of the steps, looking nervous.

"Just walk into it?"

John nodded. The teen took a deep breath and looked at his world for what he knew might be the last time. It seemed so peaceful, almost making him regret his decision to leave. No, there was nothing left for him here only further pain and suffering. Taking another deep breath he turned away from the forest and stepped into the gate, leaving behind the only home he had known.

--------------

A few days later

Delano walked the corridor outside the infirmary nervously, trying to appear not to be pacing the hall. He hoped he wouldn't run into anyone. He cursed his bad luck when he saw John approaching.

"What are you doing here? I'm surprised to see you away from Carson and Rodney."

"I… I was actually looking for you." Delano said, hoping the major would believe his lie.

"Finally got tired of them arguing all the time?"

"Yes… I mean no… I…"

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me." John winked at the flustered looking teen.

"So what were you looking for me for?"

Delano needed to buy his friends some time, thinking quickly he thought of the perfect question to ask. Stepping to the side slyly he positioned himself in the hall so he could see anyone coming from either side of the corridor.

"I was told you would be the person to ask about the sport called football. Could you explain it to me? I would be most grateful."

"Sure! What do you want to know?"

"How is it played? Rodney was saying something about two teams and a ball being thrown, then Carson mentioned how American football was not a real sport compared to football. Are they not the same? They are both called football."

"He said American football wasn't a real sport?"

Delano nodded vigorous.

"Was he wrong?"

"Yes! American football is a real sport. He's just doesn't like it and thinks football is better."

"Are they not the same sport?"

"No. See American football is played with a ball being thrown and football is with a ball being kicked but then when football is played where I'm from it's called soccer."

"Football and soccer are the same but American football is not?" Delano was thoroughly confused. Why did two different games have similar names and one of them have two?

"Yup."

"Are the rules very different?"

"Yea, like I said American football is played with a ball being thrown and football isn't. Well in football the players can use their hands and can tackle each other…"

As John launched into the rules of the two sports Delano tried to appear to be paying attention and following what was being said. He hoped he was buying his friends enough time, discreetly as he could he glanced towards the infirmary. They still hadn't appeared. What was taking them so long? And how could he get the major away from this particular corridor without seeming obvious? Pondering those questions he barely caught John's question.

"So does that help?"

"Yes, I think I understand. Thank you for explaining it to me."

"So what do you think of it?"

"Ah… it sounds like a fun game." He lied, it sounded horribly confusing and painful, from what little he heard and understood. Before he could think of an excuse that would lead to them leaving the hallway John started speaking again.

"I was going to pay a friendly visit to the infirmary. Want to come?"

"I… I was thinking about going to the mess hall. I just came from there. The nurses kicked me out, they were saying Carson and Rodney needed their rest." No the plan was going to be ruin unless he prevented the visit from happening.

"Really? Well what they don't know won't hurt them. Come I can sneak us in without them knowing."

"Uh… no offense but would it not be better if we waited an hour or so. In my experience, it always seems better to obey orders made by healers." He prayed that this excuse would work.

"Well…most of the time but they tend to over mother their patients at times. A short visit shouldn't hurt them."

Before Delano could protest further John stroll down towards the infirmary. He hurried after him in hopes of preventing the destination from being reached.

"Wait, what if we are caught?"

"Don't worry. We won't. I've done this loads of times and haven't been caught. Well maybe once or twice…come to think of it maybe more than that but I've been getting better. Don't worry." He said looking over his shoulder.

"But…"

Delano stopped his feeble excuse when the doors of the infirmary suddenly opened and the two friends he had been trying to help walked out. He groaned to himself, he had failed. The plan didn't work. Glancing at John he saw the major frozen in place in shock at seeing the two people in front of them. Maybe he could slip away before the major came to senses. No he couldn't do that. He once again pondered what to do as the uncomfortable silence continued.

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John couldn't believe who he was seeing standing in front of him. He had thought Carson and Rodney were suppose to be released by the end of the week. He could only stare at the two doctors before him, who had their eyes wide open in panic sort of like deer caught in front of a car's headlights. Carson had a sling on his left arm and the bruises marring his face and neck were an ugly red and were slowly fading into a yellowish tint. The bruises on Rodney's face were also fading but looked like he was favoring one of his legs. John couldn't get his tongue to move, it felt like lead in his mouth and prevented him from speaking. What were they doing out of their beds? After a few more seconds he was able to speak again.

"What do you think you're doing out of the infirmary?"

"Leaving! What does it look like we're doing? Do you have a problem with it?" Rodney demanded.

"Oh none what so ever but I have a feeling some doctors and nurses might. I thought you guys weren't being discharged until next week?"

"No, we've just been discharged. Don't worry lad, we wouldn't leave against doctor's orders." Carson calmly told him.

"Who discharged you?"

"What?"

"Who discharged you?"

Rodney and Carson shared a nervous glance before Carson answered.

"I did."

Seeing John's shocked face, the two doctors and teen inched away slowly.

"You did what?"

"I discharged us."

"You can't do that!"

"If course I can. I'm a doctor and we're ready to leave the infirmary."

"You can't! You're one of the patients! What would one of your doctors or nurses say if I went in there and asked them right now?"

"…"

"You know it's been nice talking to you but we've got to be going. You know places to go and things to do." Rodney said suddenly.

"Wait you can't leave! You both haven't been formally discharged!"

"We have. I even filled out the paper work." Explained Carson with a proud grin on his face.

"That has to be against some protocol. You can't be your own doctor when you're a patient."

"Well…it may seem unethical but I don't see anything wrong with it. We're ready to leave. Now if you don't mind we'll just be leaving now."

"No! You both can't leave the infirmary. You both haven't been formally discharged!"

"We're fine though, there is no reason why we can't be released today." Carson stated.

"How bout the fact that your doctors haven't discharged you yet. And how bout all the times I tried leaving before you released me? You always drag me back. Why should the two of you be allowed to leave when you want to and I can't?"

"I'm sorry but you're not a doctor and whenever you try leaving the infirmary early you aren't ready."

"I hardly see why that has anything to do with this situation. Wait," John looked at Delano suddenly realizing something.

"You planned this using Delano as a distraction to whoever might stop you."

Reluctantly they all nodded.

"Pretty clever plan, too bad it didn't work. Your idea McKay?"

"Yes and there was nothing wrong with it! If Beckett here didn't take so long in filling out the forms we would be long gone from here by now and not having this conversation right now."

"Don't blame me. I had to fill out all the proper forms to discharge us. I don't want to be accused of leaving the infirmary without a doctor's approval."

"You know that approval is biased, right? You're one of the patients in question."

"I'm willing to overlook that fine detail for the moment."

"I still can't let you go."

"John I believe it would be in your best interest if you let us go. I truly hate mentioning this but I believe you have a physical coming up…"

John felt himself paling at the reminder, just thinking about the dreaded appointment.

"Fine, leave. Go before I have second thoughts. You both better not faint or injury yourselves further. Delano I'm holding you responsible if they injury themselves again."

Delano nodded, looking like he was regretting helping the two doctors out. Quickly they walked away from the doors of the infirmary and John. He watched them walk away and soon disappear from his sight as they turned a corner. Shaking his head to himself at being forced to let them go he headed in the opposite direction. He stopped at hearing someone running towards him and yelling.

"Excuse me!"

He turned and wasn't surprised to see a nurse. Though she looked familiar he couldn't place her name.

"Have you seen Dr. Beckett or McKay?"

"Why? Are they not in their beds?"

"No. Have you seen them?"

"Ah..." Remembering Carson's "friendly" he quickly added, "I'm sorry I can't help you."

The unnamed nurse let out an annoyed huff and stalked passed the major, down the corridor. She mumbled something about doctors being the worst patients and how she was personally going to strap them down to their beds when she found them. John smirked to himself. The nurse was heading in the wrong direction. Should he tell her at the risk of having two doctors after him who could make his life miserable? Naw, he figured he would let them have their freedom while they could. It was only a matter of time before someone found them and dragged them back to the infirmary. Whistling to himself softly he walked back toward infirmary and in the opposite direction of the raging nurse but in the direction of the missing patients. Now he had to make sure he didn't run into them. He didn't want to take part or be blamed for anything Carson and Rodney might manage to do before they were found. Knowing them, they probably would find themselves some trouble before being dragged back to the infirmary. He needed to go somewhere they wouldn't go and there were a few people. He needed some witnesses, to confirm his innocence of helping whatever the two doctors ending getting themselves into. Maybe he would go to the mess hall, he had a feeling they wouldn't go there. Yea, the mess hall sounded good and then he could get a turkey sandwich.

The End...

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A.N. Well that was the end. I'm finally finished it! I hope all of you enjoyed it. I really appreciate all of you who remained till the end of my story. It's been a really long journey, time wise, for me to complete it and it means the world to me to hear people's opinions on it. Once again thank you for your time!

My unsigned reviews:

Anonymous: Ah… yes I know its been around 45 days since chapter 13. Oops… sorry for making you wait so long, hopefully you didn't reach an unfortunate demise during your wait. Thank you so much for your review! It's been great hearing from you. I hope this chapter was up to your standards… once again thank you.

Jess: Thanks for your review and taking the time to write one! Sorry it took me so long to post the next chapter… I hope it was worth the wait. I love action and Carson whumping too… J


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